Undercover Disaster
by Keiko Fujiwara
Summary: Full summary inside. Summary of the summary: Catherine and Evan are assigned an undercover job at Greenbrier resort in West Virginia on a request of the resort's CEO, Thomas Gilmore. Catherine tells Vincent of her assignment and he decides to make it his priority to make sure NOTHING happens between Evan and Catherine during their assignment. What will happen? Find out and see!
1. The Unexpected Task

**Greetings!**

**This will be my next BATB Project! I will ONLY be posting the first chapter just to see how many people like it/review it. So if you want more, send me a review! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own BATB! **

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

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**Full Summary: **

**There has been a murder scene at Greenbrier Resort and Greenbrier's CEO, Thomas Gilmore, has requested two of New England's finest detectives from the NYPD to conduct an investigation since he doesn't want this murder to leak to the West Virginian public knowledge. In order to make this undercover seem more believable, Joe Bishop assigns Evan Marks and Catherine Chandler for the task. A lot could happen at the most romantic, expensive resort in America and Evan decides to use this chance to win Catherine's heart. However, Catherine is NOT looking forward to this undercover assignment far away from home—especially being miles apart from Vincent Keller; the man who has undoubtedly captured the young detective's heart. Catherine tells Vincent of her little task and he doesn't like the idea of her spending lots of quality time with Evan Marks: his competition. Is Vincent willing to risk his identity to make sure nothing happens between the two co-workers? Find out and see!**

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**Chapter One: **

**The Unexpected Task **

"You look like you haven't slept in weeks!" Tess stated as she saw her partner, Catherine Chandler, walk towards her desk. "Problems with Mr. Complicated?"

"It has nothing to do with Mr. Complicated." Catherine replied. "I just found out some awkwardly stressing but yet exciting news."

"What type of news is both stressing and exciting?" Tess asked as she gave her partner a confused look.

"Tess," Catherine said. "Brooke is pregnant…"

"Oh, yeah. I would be awkwardly stressed and excited too. How far along is she?"

"Ten weeks." Catherine replied. "I just find it weird that I'm going to have another sibling…and I'm almost thirty."

"Having another sibling can't be all that bad, Cat. Believe me, I have five older brothers. Think of it this way, your father and Brooke will be so focused on the incoming baby that they'll forget all about your anti-sex life."

"Thanks, Tess. That's exactly what I wanted to hear." Catherine rolled her eyes. "Any cases?"

"Not yet. The day has been pretty slow lately." Tess stated.

"Alright. I'll be right back. I need to check up on something."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it." Catherine replied. "I'll be back within the next two hours." Just as she turned around, Joe blocked her path and gave her a stern look.

"I have a special assignment for you and Evan that you two will need to go home and pack immediately after the briefing."

"E-evan? Why Evan? I am HER partner, remember?!" Tess exclaimed, slightly offended.

"If you're so curious, Vargas, don't hesitate to join in on the briefing." Joe stated before heading towards his office. "I'll see you two in ten."

"What was that all about?" Tess asked, giving Catherine a confused look.

"I have no idea…I wonder what he could be wanting Evan for."

"Beats me…though, did you see how serious the boss looked? I mean, he did NOT look happy AT ALL."

"I know…he looked…disturbed for some reason. I wonder if it's about a case." Catherine suggested as she shrugged her shoulders. "I'll be right back. Since I obviously can't leave yet, I've gotta step out to make a call."

"Alright. You do that. I'll go pester Evan and see if he knows anything about Joe's…attitude and what not." Tess replied before she headed for the morgue.

Catherine quietly walked into the Ladies' Restroom and made sure no one was in there. She stood in front of the door to block any other women from trying to go to the bathroom and pulled out her phone. She scrolled down on her contacts' list and pressed the single letter, V.

On the fourth ring, she heard a raspy, deep voice answer the call. "Hello?"

"Vincent, it's me. Turns out I won't be able to make it over until a little later. The boss is about to brief me over an assignment I'll have and then he'll be sending me home to pack immediately afterwards."

"What type of assignment recalls you to pack?" he asked, confused.

"I'm not sure…Considering we've only done local crimes…so…I'll have to get back to you on that one. I'll see if I can come by later, okay?"

"Don't worry about it, Catherine. I'll stop by your place in about thirty minutes. You should be home by then, right?"

"Yeah. I should." She replied and then added, "I've gotta go now."

"Okay." He said before she ended the call. Without further ado, she made her way to Joe's office.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

"Now that all of you are here," Joe glanced at Catherine for being late, "I've received a devastating call from one of my old high school buddies, Thomas Gilmore—the CEO of West Virginia's Greenbrier resort. Unfortunately, there has been a horrific and gruesome double homicide. He's requested NYPD's finest to investigate as undercover cops."

"I'm still a little confused to why I'm dragged into this." Evan stated as he pointed to himself.

"You and Chandler are going undercover for this investigation." Joe replied.

"Ummm…Not to be rude but your friend DID say NYPD's finest." Tess said. "Evan maybe a great forensics guy, but he isn't a top field agent. No offense Evan."

"None taken." Evan responded. "Sir, I agree with Tess. Why have me go undercover when there ARE better field agents for the job?"

Joe nodded his head and replied, "I understand where you're coming from Vargas and Marks, but I've made my decision. If Chandler and you, Vargas, go as undercover cops, you two would have to either pretend to be lesbian lovers or will have to stay in separate rooms. Because I know you two would not really like to pretend the former, I think it is safe to say that sending you two together would not work. But, if I have you, Evan, and Chandler go together, you two can pretend to be a married couple experiencing your first honeymoon. That way, you two can stay together in the same room and not have to deal with communication barriers. Two is greater than one."

"You want us to what?!" Catherine exclaimed in shock.

"You heard me, Chandler. You and Evan will be undercover as newlyweds. If you two conduct your investigation properly, the assignment shouldn't take longer than a week. Besides, Thomas agreed to pay for your stay. Take advantages of this opportunity like an added perk but I don't want you two slacking off because you're at a resort."

"What am I? Chopped Liver?" Tess said, waving her arms to be noticed. "While Cat and Evan are having the times of their lives, what am I to do? I can't exactly work without a partner."

"You'll be going to…but not as a guest."

"Uh-oh. I don't like the sound of this." Tess frowned as she put her hand on her hips.

"Think what you will, Vargas, but I'm having you go as a maid. That'll give you easy access to the scene of the crime." Joe replied.

"Why not have Evan go as a maid or a butler or something!? I mean, he is the science dude so don't you think being a worker is more his thing? He could use his magical tools to assess the crime scene as he's "working"!"

"Calm down, Vargas. My decision is made. Evan, it may be helpful if you bring some of your lab equipment for blood tests and what not. If you need any other equipment, Thomas would be more than able to help you retrieve what you're looking for. For the next six hours, I want the three of you go home and pack. Meet back here at two. I'll have someone take you three to the airport. Your flight will be leaving at four and when you first come here, I'll give you your itineraries. Any questions?"

All three shook their heads and made their way out of Joe's office.

"This'll be fun of sorts." Evan smirked.

"Don't count on it, Evan." Catherine replied, annoyed.

"Come on, Cat. Lighten up! It's just for a week anyways." Tess exclaimed and added, "If anyone should be complaining, it should be me. I'm the one with the lame-ass maid job. Wait…I just thought of something." Tess ran to fetch Joe before the other two could leave for home.

"What is it Vargas?"

"Just wondering, why are agents from the NYPD going to conduct an investigation in a different state?"

"Because, I told you Thomas Gilmore is my friend. He also doesn't want to leak anything out to the press so he thought investigators from a different state would be a better approach." Joe responded. "I thought I told you three to disappear!"

"Right!" they all replied before making their way to the door.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

'_I can't believe this!_' Catherine mentally shouted as she packed her clothes. '_Not ONLY do I have to travel hundreds of miles for a private investigation but I have to do it with Evan no less! I mean, I know he's a nice guy and all and he's a good friend but, this undercover assignment is probably going to bring out the player inside that brilliant British mind of his._'

"Careful, Catherine. You don't want to start smoking steam from your ears." Catherine spun around, finding Vincent only three feet away from her, smirking.

"I'm guessing you can sense my frustration." She said as she opened another drawer to fish for clothes.

"A little." He answered, taking a seat on her bed. "So what's got you so worked up for?"

"Work." She replied darkly.

Vincent took the pair of pants she had in her hands away from her and urged her to sit down next to him. As a former doctor, he knew that the best medicine to cure an angry soul is to vent in order to gain an outside input. "What happened?"

Catherine sighed, sat down right next to him and said, "Joe, my boss, has assigned Tess, Evan and me an undercover assignment at Greenbrier in West Virginia."

"Greenbrier, as in THE Greenbrier?" Vincent asked as his eyes widened.

"Yeah…that's the one. Anyways, I'm declaring this assignment as entrapment." She stated.

Vincent chuckled and said, "I bet it couldn't be all THAT bad. I mean, you'll be staying at Greenbrier. THE Greenbrier."

"The resort part of it won't be too much of a problem, Vincent. It's the undercover back story I'll have to bear with while being there."

"What do they have you doing?"

"Well, Joe has assigned Tess as a hotel maid." She decided to slowly drag out the information, not wanting to provoke any beastly episodes.

"I'm guessing she got the worst end of the stick?"

"She feels like she does but I disagree completely. Compared to my undercover disguise, hers is Heaven."

"Why?" Vincent asked as he subconsciously leaned closer to her.

"Here goes nothing." She muttered but she knew he could hear her. "Joe has Evan and me pretending to be newlyweds to make a story sound more believable. Evan is obviously thrilled with this assignment. He was practically glowing as we left the station. That's not a good thing, Vincent."

Vincent's eyes started glowing with jealousy. Catherine immediately noticed his temper change and quickly cupped his face with her hands. "Vincent, it's okay. It's alright."

His eyes simmered down to their original color and he muttered an apology.

"You don't have to be sorry, Vincent." Catherine lightly laughed. "As long as I keep my guard up, I won't let Evan's player side get the best of him. If it does, I'll smack him silly until he remembers his place. Okay?"

"So…pretending to be newlyweds means you two will be sharing a room, Catherine. You DO know Greenbrier's honeymoon suites consist of only one bed, right?"

Catherine's eyes widened. No. She hadn't thought of that.

"Great…" she replied. "Just another thing to make this assignment even more terrible."

"W-what if I go?" he suddenly offered but then realized how stupid the suggestion was.

"If only you could, Vincent. That would make this torture seem bearable…but, we both know there're obstacles with that."

Vincent sighed, "Yeah…it was a dumb idea."

"No, Vincent. Not dumb; just…impossible." Catherine smiled. "To know that you'd be there watching over me would keep me sane, Vincent. I'll have to warn you about something though."

"What? There's more?"

"Kinda…you see…Joe has asked us to act like a married couple in the public eye…so pretty much when we're not in the bedroom, we have to cling to each other…like kissing…"

Vincent breathed deeply to control his anger and felt Catherine touch his arm for comfort. "Just know that whatever happens in that resort, it is ONLY one-sided; Evan-sided. I have no feelings for Evan, Vincent. I promise…no matter what things look like."

"Why are you telling me this, Catherine? It's not like I'll be there having a front row view." Vincent slightly chuckled.

"Because…I know…deep down…that despite how impossible your idea may seem, you'll find a way down there. I know you, Vincent. Just because an idea sounds like a dumb one or an impossible one, doesn't mean it's going to stop you from doing what you want to do. Then again, there's always JT who could persuade you to stay home."

"Yeah…Good ole JT." He smirked. "When do you leave?"

"I have about three hours left until I have to be back at the precinct. I have to finish packing at some point. Then I'll have to take a shower and find some way to refill a prescription of Xanax to take care of my flying anxiety." She said with a laugh.

"I think I could help with that. How bad are your symptoms?"

"Oh…well, let's just say the last time I flew, the plane received a lovely floor decoration to their aisle." She chuckled.

"Alright." Vincent said as he pulled out his cellphone. Catherine stayed silent as he dialed the only other number in his contacts—JT. "Hey JT…I have a favor….Yes, JT….No, JT….Could you just let me talk...Okay, I need you to get a bottle of Alprazolam for 10 mg…Okay…Thanks, man."

"Just curious, wouldn't me, a cop, taking illegally prescriptioned drugs be a bad thing?" Catherine asked as he ended the call.

"Not if you just add them to your already prescriptioned Xanax bottle. No one will ever know the difference." Vincent evilly smirked.

"You are so bad, Vincent Keller." She playfully grinned as she elbowed him in the arm. "If you weren't technically dead to the world, I would have arrested you for illegally prescribing me drugs."

"So…let me get this straight….You would hypothetically lock me up because I illegally prescribed a drug to you that could help your flying anxiety yet you don't see my biological condition as a reason to put me behind bars?" Vincent asked, amused.

Catherine chuckled and said, "Hypothetically—yeah."

"I see…Anyways, JT is only getting you enough pills for the plane ride to and fro. You take the first pill an hour before your flight. You shouldn't need to take another one after four hours but, if you do, only take half a pill."

"I know," she laughed, "It isn't the first time I've taken Xanax before."

"Just a friendly reminder. Why don't you go and finish packing while I make my way to the warehouse. I'll fetch the prescription once JT gets home, which shouldn't be too long from now, and then meet you back here within the hour?"

"Alright. Sounds like a plan." Catherine smiled. "Thanks, Vincent. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."

"Likewise." He muttered before leaving his heart back with the woman he just finished talking to. '_JT was right,_' he thought, '_I'm completely smitten…_'

Vincent Keller was indeed deeply in love with Catherine Chandler. He would go to great lengths in order to be with her and keep her safe. There was no way he could let Evan Marks steal her away from him. From what Catherine has said, Evan is a charmer. He can capture pretty much any woman's heart with his accent alone. Unlike him, Evan could find another girl and move on. The chances of Vincent finding another woman like Catherine—a woman who could accept him for who he is and not run away—are slim to none. He was going to do whatever he can to convince JT to let him go to Greenbrier. Even if that means to gravel on his knees and beg JT to let him go. He would definitely break his pride if he had to.

'_I refuse to allow myself to stay home when Catherine needs me elsewhere._' He told himself as he made his way to the warehouse. '_I have to somehow make JT understand my bond with Catherine. Otherwise, he's going to give me a fat-ass NO._'

Vincent sighed. He knew the road ahead was going to be a tough one considering his circumstance but he just couldn't allow her to go practically alone with Evan to a resort that's filled with many romantic possibilities. He's a charmer and like Vincent, he'll do whatever he can to win Catherine's heart. And this was a game Vincent Keller could NOT lose at any cost.

If he did, it would destroy him.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

"And why did I need to bring home Alprazolam?" JT asked as he walked into the upper level of the warehouse.

"Before I answer anything, you should sit down and drink first." Vincent replied, handing him a beer.

"Whatever dude." JT said as he twisted the cap off of the bottle and began drinking. "Okay, I'm drinking and sitting. Wait…let me think…this is going to start out with "Catherine is…" Isn't it?"

Vincent didn't reply.

"Good gracious, Man! What did she do now?"

"Nothing!" Vincent yelled to defend the very woman they're talking about.

"What then?"

"Catherine WAS given an undercover assignment at Greenbrier."

"G-greenbrier!? As in, GREENBRIER?!"

"Yeah. Anyways, she firstly needs the Xanax because she has flight anxiety and needed more. I thought that adding a little bit to her already prescriptioned bottle wouldn't hurt any."

"But that's not why you want me to drink, is it."

"No. That isn't the reason. Catherine is not going on this assignment alone. Her partner, Tess, will be disguised as a maid and Catherine…." Vincent's voice trailed as he tried to keep his nerves collected. "Catherine and Evan are posing as newlyweds."

"Woah…And she's OKAY with this?!"

"No! She's not! In fact, she told me she wished I could go with her to keep an eye on her. She knows that Evan is a player—"

"Because he kissed her?"

"JT! Not now! Anyways, because Catherine knows he's a player, she doesn't feel comfortable sharing a _**honeymoon**_ suite with him."

"Okaaaaay…soooo I'm guessing that's downing your vibe a little, isn't it."

"A little…and she even told me that, there are _**things**_ bound to happen outside of the bedroom…like kissing and such to make their 'newly-wedded' marriage seem real."

"And you're okay with this?"

"If you're asking if I am perfectly content with the fact that my Catherine…I mean Catherine…is going to the most romantic resort in all of America with a player for a coworker rather than me, then No! I am not!"

"Woah dude. Calm down before you hurt someone." JT waved his hands. "Obviously, you don't trust Cat."

"It's not that I don't trust her, JT, because I do. I just don't trust Evan. He could try anything with her while on this trip not to mention Catherine said he was glowing when leaving the precinct."

"Yikes…glowing men….that's never a good sign."

"Exactly! And that's why, JT…"

"Oh no…here's the kick in the stomach…"

"…I've decided to go to Greenbrier and keep an eye on her."

"ARE! YOU! INSANE!? GUYS WITH DEATH CERTIFICATES CAN'T JUST FLY DOWN TO GREENBRIER! BESIDES!? WHERE'RE YOU GOING TO GET THE MONEY FROM? GREENBRIER ISN'T EXACTLY A CHEAP RESORT!"

"Calm down, JT. I've got it all figured out."

"Which is how exactly?!"

"Remember when you made me fake identification cards and records for emergencies only?"

"You mean those Vincent Zalanski cards and records?"

"Yeah…those ones."

"Dude…that was a joke. LITERALLY. I was not intending you to actually USE them!"

"I don't care. I'm going to use them."

"…And again, how are you going to pay for one, the plane round-trip and two, the resort?!"

"I'm going to dig up my personal funds from being a doctor."

"Vincent! Those funds were buried for a reason! The hidden cash is supposed to help you get back on your feet once you're cleared to live a normal life again!"

"I know JT but honestly? After ten years do you honestly think I'll ever live a normal life?! Besides, even after I use some of it for the round-trip and Greenbrier, I'll still have a large sum left! When we buried that money, I also said the money was to be used for EMERGENCIES. It may not seem like it to you, JT, but situation is definitely an emergency in my book."

"Oh? You mean the book you've titled as: INSANITY TO THE EXTREMES? Because, Vincent, of ALL the stupid ideas you've ever conjured while knowing Cat, this has GOT to be the CRAZIEST of them all!"

"I know, JT! I know it's risky and crazy but I canNOT just sit back and allow that…that player to try to take her away from me! I've worked too hard to earn her trust and I'm not going to lose her altogether! She was shot not too long ago, remember? Remember how hysterical I was after coming home with blood all over my suit? That's how I'd feel if she ever left me, JT!"

"Dude…Catherine is not a trophy to put on your trophy case. She's not your property. You can't just objectify her like you used to with other girls several years ago. She, unlike those naïve college girls you continuously slept with, is her own person and she's very independent. If she heard you, right now, claiming her as your own, she wouldn't like it very much." JT said calmly but still angrily.

"I know, JT. I don't mean to objectify her like that. You're right about one thing; she IS different from ALL of the girls of my past. Trust me; I won't ever treat her like the way I have treated girls during college. Being 'dead' for ten years has brought me to the realization that I was already a beast before becoming one. She makes me feel alive, JT. No other woman has ever done that before. I know I was very possessive in the past when it came to women but, in a way, this is a different kind of possession."

"Possession is possession, dude."

"No, JT. Trust me on this. It's different." Vincent replied, as he started putting his suitcase together.

"Alright, man, do what you have to do. It is your life, after all. I'm not your nanny so you don't need me to tell you to not do something. Just call me every few hours, okay? That way I know you're still alive."

"Really? You're letting me go?" Vincent gave his roommate a look of surprise. Sure, he planned on going with or without JT's blessing but having his best friend's support in this ridiculous decision is all he could ever ask for.

"Sure, dude. I realized that if I found out Sarah and some guy were going to a conference together, I'd probably stalk them too." He smirked. "Why shouldn't you?"

"Thanks man. I appreciate it." Vincent smiled as he finished packing the last thing.

"No problem…just do me a favor."

"What?"

"Before you come home, I want you and Catherine to discuss your relationship. I know you two have had these "actions speak louder than words" moments and hidden messages with each other but, seriously. I'm tired of all this sexual tension between you two. Either have sex before you come home or establish some kind of "future sexual" relationship. Because seriously, you two are like bipolar sex magnets. Sometimes you two are both Norths and you avoid each other's touch. Other times you two are opposite polarities and obviously crave each other but then one of you, namely you, switch back to the opposite pole and start to pull away again. So, just figure out your sex lives. Okay?"

"Erm…okay…" Vincent replied awkwardly. He never thought JT would actually encourage him to have sex with Catherine—then again, it WAS JT who encouraged him to tell Catherine how he felt way back when.

Sure, he's told her in so many forms but, yet, he's never verbally spelled out those three defining words that could make or break any gut-wrenching moment. But, even if he doesn't tell her soon, he still cannot allow Evan Marks to one-up him with Catherine. Evan is exactly how he used to be before the beast—a charming man always on the prowl. Evan objectifies women, only dating them for the pleasure they can bring him. Vincent has seen the way Evan looks at Catherine—a look of hunger and want but nothing about love; only lust.

Catherine doesn't deserve someone who's always seeing her as a sex doll. Sure, she doesn't even deserve a beast but, at this point, Vincent didn't care. He loved her too much to lose her now. Catherine has always told him that she is her own woman and she chooses what she does in her life. Not once has she ever run away from him. He was grateful for her decision to stay with him—even if it was just a friendly affection on her part. She noticed him and never gave up on him as much as he wanted her to. He truly loved her and he wanted to prove to her just how much he cared.

He picked up his suitcase and grabbed Catherine's Xanax before placing them on his bed. He started towards the door and said, "I'll be back soon. Gonna dig up the money. If you could, could you do me a favor and buy me a ticket to the closest airport from Greenbrier? Oh and call Catherine and find out which time her flight is and tell her I wanted to know."

"Whatever dude. Have fun shoveling." JT replied, pulling out his phone.

"Thanks, JT."

"You owe me."

"I know." Vincent replied, making his way towards the door. "See ya."

"See ya." JT replied, knowing Vincent was making a REALLY risky move but he also knew Vincent needed to discover things on his own or else he'll never learn. In ways, JT believed Vincent was more like a teenager than he ever was. His yearn to be with Catherine has caused so much drama on JT's end; so much drama a teenager would conjure. As JT searched his contacts, he couldn't help but laugh at Vincent's little plan. Even if it was a horrible one, JT couldn't deny that he was interested in the results. Only time will tell.

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**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

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**Keiko Fujiwara: **

**Okay so this was chapter one. I wrote a long chapter because, this fanfiction, will not be officially started until I finish **_**Keep Me Safe**_**. Still, please review and tell me if you'd like more! The more reviews I get, the better chances I might change my mind and work on this simultaneously with **_**Keep Me Safe**_**. **

**Thank you! :)**


	2. Vincent's Determination

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

**Chapter Two: **

**Vincent's Determination**

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As Vincent walked back in to the warehouse, JT said, "Everything is all set up, man. I've bought your round-trip ticket and you will be flying on the same plane as Catherine for both trips. The plan will be landing at Greenbrier Valley Airport where a bus will pick you up. I also went ahead and paid for your stay. You said a week right?"

"Yeah…that's what Catherine said it should take." Vincent said as he placed the shovel back to where he grabbed it.

"Okay, well if you need more time, call me and I'll set it up for you. Now, where's my money?" JT asked, putting his hand in front of Vincent. Vincent smirked.

"How much was the grand total?"

"If you give me about $2500, I'll call it a deal." JT replied.

"Okay…$2500 it is." Vincent said as he searched through the bag he took with him to dig the money out.

"Do you need to use one of my cars?"

"Nah…I'll take the city bus. I should be fine riding for fifteen minutes until I get to the airport. To keep you from having an ulcer, I brought extra in case I have emergencies."

"Smart thinking. Remember to CALL me every once in a while. Okay?"

"Got it."

"And don't let yourself get compromised. I mean, of course let Cat know you're there but don't spend every single waking moment with her, okay?"

"Got it."

"One more thing." JT stated.

"What?"

"Have fun. You could use more of that." JT smiled.

"Thanks. I owe you one." Vincent replied before placing his money in his suitcase. He put a roll of cash in his pocket and said, "See ya later."

"Bye." JT smirked as his roommate grabbed his suitcase, the Xanax and his fake identification. '_He has no idea what I just did for him_.'

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Vincent made his way back to Catherine's and placed his suitcase on the fire escape so she wouldn't see it. He opened up her window and slid through it, finding her suitcase already packed and ready to go.

He heard the shower running and decided to lie down on her bed and wait for her to finish. The sound of the continuous water falling against her body soothed his mind and before long, his eyes slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

Catherine finally turned off the water of her shower and squeezed the water from her hair. She couldn't help but wonder when Vincent would be back. He was almost never late but then again, JT could have taken his sweet time getting home. It was almost 12:30 PM and she still had about 1.5 hours left until she has to leave.

She reached for her towel and dried her body before stepping out of the shower. As neatly as she could, she wrapped the towel around her body after drying her hair. She turned off the bathroom light as she opened the door and almost screamed if it weren't for the fact that she didn't want to wake up the sleeping Vincent on her bed.

She smiled at the scene before her. Never has she ever seen him sleep before. It was breathtaking to watch him peacefully sleep on top of her bed. So breathtaking, the sight was intoxicating. Catherine walked to the side of her bed and knelt to her knees. While holding her towel with one hand she carefully brushed his soft, brunette bangs from his face.

At that moment, his eyes snapped open to apprehend his surroundings. Realizing he was still in Catherine's room, his heart-rate decreased to normal as his eyes adjusted on the woman standing right in front of him.

"Hey." She smiled.

He sat up and stretched his arms as he yawned. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's okay. You were obviously tired, Vincent. I don't mind." She said as she sat down next to him.

"You should…uh…you probably should finish getting ready." He slightly blushed as he avoided her gaze.

As if a light bulb just turned on, she finally remembered she was only wearing a towel and immediately stood up, completely embarrassed. "I'll be…I'll be right back."

"Take your time, Catherine. I'll just go back to sleep." He replied, lying back down on her bed.

Catherine ignored his statement and quickly grabbed a pair of black slacks, a purple halter-top and her undergarments before going back to the bathroom. After slipping on her underwear and hooking her bra, she hopped into her black slacks and slid her halter-top over her head before pulling her hair out from underneath the back neck of the shirt. She applied her make-up quickly but carefully after clicking earing studs to her ears. She blow-dried her hair and tied it into a ponytail before opening the bathroom door. Once again, he was fast asleep. '_For a man with super-hearing, he sure can sleep._'

She sat down next to him and slowly shook him awake. "Vincent, I'm back."

He sluggishly opened his eyes and smiled. He could get used to waking up to Catherine's face any day. Sex or no sex.

Once again, he stretched and walked over to her bedside table. "I brought over the Xanax." He picked up the small bottle and handed it to Catherine. "Here you go."

"Thanks." She grinned. She took the bottle, walked into her bathroom and grabbed the empty Xanax container from her medicine cabinet. She twisted the cap open and dumped the pills into her prescription. She placed the now empty Xanax bottle that Vincent brought over into her medicine cabinet to temporarily take the other bottle's space. She would dispose of it later.

She walked back to Vincent and noticed he was sitting on her bed, waiting for her. She sat right next to him and surprisingly, placed her head against his shoulder. "I wish you could go with me."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "If I could go, what would you imagine us doing?"

"I see ourselves walking along the gardens hand-in-hand as we enjoy the vast beauty around us. I have to admit, I've always wanted to go to Greenbrier but I'd rather go and spend it with someone I know I can have a fantastic time with. That's you, Vincent." She whispered before looking into his dark, brown orbs of life.

"Don't worry," he muttered, "I'll be there."

Catherine looked at him with confusion and he immediately started rebuking his statement. "I mean I'll be there in a figurative kind of way." He took ahold of her hands and added, "When you're over there, just think of me, okay?"

She nodded and leaned her head back down on his shoulder. "Hopefully, Tess, Evan and I will be able to solve this double homicide quickly so I won't have to bear with Evan's promiscuity. The moment we solve the murders, I'll request a single suite."

"If I can, I'll find a way over there, Catherine. I don't care about the risks."

She looked at him with hope but then said, "I would regret it for the rest of my life if you destroy everything you've worked for in the past ten years."

"Catherine, this is my mark to bear, not yours. If something happens to me at any time of my life, it would be all on me." Vincent replied, not wanting Catherine to carry his burden. He placed a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her on the forehead. "It's about time for you to go, isn't it?"

Catherine looked at her watch and heaved a sigh. "Yeah…if I want to make it there on time, I'll have to leave at least thirty minutes early."

"Alright…I guess I should get going too." Vincent replied as he stroke her hand with his thumb.

"CATHERINE CHANDLER! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE AT ONCE!"

Vincent and Catherine immediately stood up as her sister, Heather, shouted across the apartment.

Catherine headed for her door and Vincent headed for the window. They gave each other one last loving look before Vincent quietly said, "I'll see you around."

She smiled and waved goodbye before leaving him completely frozen on her fire escape. She seriously had no idea what kind of effect she has on him. As he felt the wind blow against him, he shook away his thoughts and picked up his suitcase. There was no possible way Catherine Chandler was going to leave without him. He'll make sure of that.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Catherine, Tess and Evan were waiting at the airport for their time of departure. To ensure they were not late, Joe wanted them at the airport an hour before their take-off. Catherine and Tess were sitting down at one of the airport benches and Evan was standing.

"Cat, I think it would be wise if we took this time to get our backstory straight. It wouldn't look too good if we disagreed on things."

Catherine sighed. It was now or never.

"Okay, fine." She replied.

Tess stood up and stretched her muscles. "I'm going to go and get something to drink. Do you want anything? I'm buying."

"I'll have a cup of water." Catherine replied with a tired smile. Luckily, she received a text from JT reminding her to take the Xanax pill an hour before they leave. She was grateful for that little reminder. She would have forgotten otherwise.

"I'll have me a large Sprite." Evan replied as Tess walked away.

"On it!" she hollered back.

Evan sat down next to Catherine (a little too close) and leaned in her direction. "I think, our names should be Erik and Olivia Davies. We could be from London, England and our wedding was two days ago."

"Evan, you should know by now that I cannot fake a British accent to save my life. I'm going to have to stay American if this is going to work out."

"Fine…You can be from California."

"No, Evan, I'll be from New York City. Besides, I like my hometown. New York City is too big anyways for anyone to hunt us down. Just say we eloped because your parents wouldn't approve. It's that simple."

"Why my parents? Why not your father? If anything, he's a strict—"

"Remember, Evan, this is just for pretend. It shouldn't matter whose parents do or do not approve. Okay?"

"Fine. But you're still going to be Olivia Davies." Evan pouted as Catherine rolled her eyes.

While the two were discussing their cover story, a certain former doctor was waiting within earshot. He had decided last minute to go back to the warehouse and change his clothing from casual to formal. He thought it wouldn't look right if a person wearing anything less than a formal suit walked into Greenbrier. He had to play his part just like Catherine had to play hers.

Vincent watched as Evan and Catherine interacted, studying their every move. He was proud to say that Catherine looked annoyed and tried to keep her distance from Evan whereas the flirt was trying everything possible to make physical contact with her in any way. This slightly ticked Vincent off but, the mere fact that he was actually going to go to Greenbrier with Catherine (indirectly) calmed his nerves.

He noticed that Tess was on her way back and he swore she glanced at him before looking back at her co-workers. Hopefully, she didn't recognize him or think he was staring at her friends (even though he technically was).

Vincent tuned in closely as he heard Tess say, "So do you to have a cover story?"

Catherine and Evan nodded.

Evan stood up and offered his hand for a handshake. "May I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Erik Davies."

"Nice name. What's yours, Cat?"

"Olivia…" she said with distaste.

"Oooooh! That'll definitely work. Those names sound very rich if you ask me." Tess replied.

"My name will be Regina Valmirez. I'm an immigrated Spaniard from Barcelona. Capish?"

Catherine and Evan laughed as their friend introduces 'herself' to them. They could tell, even though she was going in as a maid, she was having fun with this. Suddenly, they looked at the time and noticed that their plane was boarding passengers.

"Well," Evan said, "I guess we must be off."

They picked up their carry-on bags and chugged down their drinks.

Little did they know that a certain ex-veteran was following them.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Catherine took her seat towards the back of the plane. She really hated flying and she really hated sitting in the back. Evan and Tess were seated in front of her. With her luck, she was given the outcast ticket. While Tess and Evan converse back and forth, if that's what they plan on doing besides sleeping, Catherine will feel left out. It's hard to listen into conversations when she's more focused on keeping her food down her stomach. The second fear she's always had when flying had to do with the empty seat next to her. For all she knew, some guy named Fat Bubba might have that seat and she'll be even more miserable during the flight. '_Great…just great._'

She leaned back in her chair and buckled herself in. She didn't care if she didn't have to buckle herself, she wanted to feel safe and if she had it her way, she would have planes provide twenty harnesses for each seat. She closed her eyes and prayed that the take-off will soon start so she could not run out like a sissy.

Suddenly, her ears perked up as she heard a very familiar voice say, "Well, if I get the pleasure to sit next to a beautiful woman for the next four hours, I must be doing something right in my life."

She opened her eyes and muttered, "V-vincent?!"

"Hello Catherine Chandler. It's been a long time." Vincent smirked as he stood in the aisle, waiting for Catherine to allow him to take a seat.

"Catherine, you know this man?" Tess asked, pointing to Vincent.

Vincent sat down and said, "Catherine and I go way back. I met her when she was in college."

"College?" Evan asked as he turned around to assess a potential rival.

"Yes." Vincent smiled. "Who ever thought I'd be able to see you again after all this time. In a plane, no less."

Catherine couldn't believe her eyes. She either was hallucinating or he was really there, right next to her. She noticed he was pretending to be an old buddy so Catherine decided to play along. "This is Vincent. He and I met my freshman year. In fact, for a few years, we dated each other."

This little piece of a lie surprised Vincent. He glanced at Evan and silently laughed when he saw the lad's face.

"Cat, what did you say his last name was?" Evan asked.

"She didn't. I'm Vincent Zalanski."

"What do you do for a living, Mr. Zalanski?" Tess asked.

"I'm a doctor…a privately practiced doctor." Vincent replied.

"Where are you from?" Evan raised a brow.

"Denver." Vincent said. He was really enjoying this. Catherine, on the other hand, was a little worried Evan and Tess may ask too many questions.

"What're you doing in New York City?" Tess asked and Evan nodded, wanting to know the same thing.

"I thought I'd explore other parts of the country. I recently moved from Denver and thought a nice vacation was in order. That's why I decided to go to Greenbrier. I haven't been there in years but I remember the service being superb. Catherine, how is your job going?"

"Fine…busy, but fine. Vincent, I've gotta tell you something."

"What?" he asked, pretending to be clueless.

"You remember my line of profession being a cop, right?"

"Yeah…I think you mentioned that over email." Vincent replied, forgetting that email was so not in style anymore.

"Email?" Now it was Tess who raised her eyebrow. "Cat, I thought you don't use email outside of work."

"Oh! I do but that's only to talk with Vincent. You see, he's very old-fashioned. He doesn't like to adapt to change, isn't that right?"

"Yeah." He was glad she covered his butt a few seconds ago. He didn't know what he would have said to counter Tess's question.

"Anyways, Tess, Evan and I are going to Greenbrier as well. We're going as undercover cops so if you ever see me there, call me Olivia Davies. Okay?"

"That sounds like it'll be fun. If you ever need help with the crime scene, don't hesitate to ask." Vincent smiled as he pulled out a notepad and pen. Evan and Tess looked at each other and then faced the seats in front of them.

Catherine was ecstatic that he was actually here. Suddenly, she felt a notepad slip into her hands. There was a note on it:

_**How did I do?**_

She took the pen from his hand and wrote:

_**Great! I almost believed you. How did JT consent to this?**_

Catherine gave Vincent the notepad and pen, waiting for his answer.

_**He finally consented after a long period of persuasion.**_

_**So that's why JT wanted to know which plane I was leaving on.**_

_**Yeah. **_

"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts. We are about to lift off in twenty seconds." A flight attendant warned before sitting down herself. Vincent buckled himself in and he noticed Catherine's pulse increasing.

"I thought you took the medicine." He whispered.

"I did...but that still doesn't destroy the fact that I hate flying." She whispered back, low enough so Tess and Evan couldn't hear her.

Vincent cautiously placed his hand on top of hers and laced his fingers with her. She leaned her head against him, knowing she felt safe with his touch. Evan glanced back at them and was disgusted with how close Catherine and Vincent were. Here is a man who hasn't seen her in nearly ten years and he's already touching her as if those nine years of separation didn't exist at all. Something was fishy about this Vincent guy and he was going to get to the bottom of this.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

An hour has passed since the plane took off from New York. Tess was listening to music, Evan was thinking about how to approach the Vincent-issue, Vincent was busy listening to Catherine's steady heartbeat as she was fast asleep.

Evan finally turned around and asked, "So…you two were a thing in college?"

"Yeah." Vincent lied.

"Why has she never talked about you?" Evan asked, demanding a straight answer from his new rival.

"I ended the relationship. There were some personal issues I had to deal with and I wanted to deal with them alone. It was a great mistake and I'm torn up about it. She probably forgot about me since I basically dropped off of the grid. About six months ago, I saw her name on the TV for cracking the case about that fashion editor...Ashley Webster. As soon as I could, I looked her name up online and found her phone number. I called her and we've been in contact ever since. I suggested we communicate by email because it would kind of like our own private thing." Vincent smirked. "She asked me to come to her father's wedding and, initially, I could but I was called in for work."

"I thought you were a private doctor."

"I am. I work for a private hospital but mostly make house visits for those who can't make their way to the hospital." Vincent replied. If anything, the type of doctor he described was the type of doctor he desired to be: one always helping the helpless in times a need. As of right now, the chances of ever being a doctor again were as slim as him finding another girl like the one lying on his shoulder if she were to ever leave him. The little cover story allows him to be the doctor he's always wanted to be.

"Why weren't you there for her when her mum died?" Evan asked, giving Vincent a dirty look.

"Like I said, I had personal issues and basically dropped off of the grid. I didn't know her mother died until my friend, one who lives in New York City, told me so. I wanted to be there for her but I wasn't sure if she'd allow me back in her life."

"It seems like she is now." Evan said as if those words tasted like venom. "Who was your friend?"

Suddenly, Tess pulled out her earplugs and stated, "Could you two stop throwing mental javelins at one another?! Cat is sleeping and I'm trying to listen to my music! Evan, this isn't the precinct and, as you know, you are not an interrogator. Chill it with the questions. Save your voice for the actual crime scene."

Evan turned back around and said no more. Tess was right, he needed to focus his task at hand—not some silly competition who has already broken Cat's heart once. (Or so he thinks).

While Evan returned to his own little world, Vincent felt Catherine move her head a little as she opened her eyes. "Hey." She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his left arm and snuggled closer to him.

"Hey." He smiled back. "How did you sleep?"

"I think the medicine I took helped a little. Now, I'm hungry." She replied with a goofy face.

"Unfortunately, we're not in first class." Vincent whispered. "But I can do something about that."

"You can?"

"Yes. I can." He smirked and raised his hand for the flight attendant to come their direction.

"May I help you?" she asked as she clung tightly to her pen and clipboard.

"Yes," Vincent stated, "My friend, Catherine, told me she wasn't feeling well due to flight anxiety. Is there any way she can get something to treat her empty stomach?"

"I'm sorry, Sir. The only times we allow second class to receive a meal is when they have a special diet or are on doctor's orders."

"Miss…I am a doctor." Vincent said assertively. "I say she needs food."

"May I see an ID?" she asked.

Vincent dug into his pocket and pulled out his fake medical ID. JT, a few months ago, remade his medical ID and changed all of the information to fit Vincent's little Denver story. Of course, JT did all of this for a joke but who knew it would eventually come in handy?

"Alright, Dr. Zalanski. I'll be sure to bring something over right away." She smiled before walking past them to the very back while clucking her heels against the aisle.

Vincent leaned towards Catherine and said, "See? I told you I could help with that."

"And I never doubted you for a second." Catherine smiled weakly. In truth, she was really out of sorts. She felt a little nauseated but she thinks it has to do with her hungriness. "I'll be right back. I need to use the restroom."

"Do you need help?" Vincent asked and Evan shot him a look as he heard the conversation behind him. "Getting there, I mean."

"No, Vincent, I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer though." Catherine smiled as she unbuckled her harness. She carefully walked towards the front of the plane.

Before she came back, the flight attendant brought a tray with two rolls. "I'm sorry but this was all I could bring out."

"Thanks, she'll be back in a minute so I'll make sure she gets it." Vincent said while taking the tray. The flight attendant smiled and walked towards the front, allowing Catherine to pass in the process. "She brought over two rolls. Will they suffice?"

"Yes, Vincent. Two rolls will be fine. Thanks." She smiled before sitting down.

Vincent waited for her to harness herself in before placing the tray on her lap. As she nibbled on the roll, she couldn't help but see Vincent in a different light. She was used to the dark and mysterious man who yearns to help people in need. When in front of her co-workers, he seems like a completely different person. He's more social and knows how to hold up a conversation without showing that he's lying. She liked this different side to him. It's as almost as if he seems hopeful. Of course, she knows she loves every side of Vincent but the one he's currently portraying was all too new to her. Like he always is, he's acting kind and considerate—only thinking of her. She wondered if it had to do with the fact that her coworkers/friends were keeping a sharp eye on him and he was only making a good first impression. Whatever the reason, Vincent was Vincent; no matter which part of him surfaces. She finished her first roll and started on her second.

Vincent bent down to his carryon and pulled out his pillow as Catherine leaned back against his shoulder. "Do you want the rest of this roll?" Catherine offered a bite-sized piece of bread to Vincent and he smiled.

"Sure."

Vincent took the piece from her hand and plopped it into his mouth. Even though it was a small piece of bread, he wanted to savor it inside his mouth. It was, after all, saturated with Catherine's saliva. "Tell me when we're landing. Okay?"

"Okay." He smiled as he watched her fall back asleep. '_I love you._' he mentally whispered as he subconsciously moved her hair from her face. Evan stared at the two lovebirds as they interacted with each other and now he's giving Vincent a look declaring a challenge.

Vincent smirked, knowing where Catherine's heart lies. If anything, he mainly came on this trip to make sure Evan doesn't touch Catherine in any disrespectful way. He will not allow that to happen. '_Evan Marks, your challenge is accepted._' He thought as he looked at Evan smugly. If only JT could see the look on Evan's face right now. Vincent should earn a medal in JT's eyes for pissing off the guy who kissed Catherine at her birthday party. This little charade is going to be too fun for him. That's for sure.

Vincent kissed Catherine on the head before falling asleep as well. Who knew he'd still be this tired after sleeping for an hour or so at Catherine's earlier that day. But he loved the idea even more as he leaned his head against hers. During the next three hours, he was going to MAKE SURE Evan knows to keep his hands away from Catherine. Catherine, in a loving way, belonged to him and he couldn't just let that go. He was going to fight for her; no matter the costs. He believed that Catherine Chandler belonged to him just as much as he belonged to her. His heart was taken by the very woman pressed up against him. And, at this point, that's all he could ever ask from Catherine and there was no way he was going to take his heart back. She owned him in every little way and he was crazy about her. Not even a man from Britain can deter his feelings from her and he WILL NOT let him deter Catherine from him. He and Catherine are like two peas in a pod; inseparable. Vincent closed his eyes and smiled. His plan, as of right now, was working. The next phase in his operation is Greenbrier—to intervene without being seen.

* * *

**Keiko Fujiwara: **

**I felt nice and decided to write chapter two. What did you think about Vincent's appearance? I thought it would be better for Catherine's part if she knew he'd be at Greenbrier watching over her. He sure is the little devil when it comes to plans. **

**What do you think will happen? By the way, this fanfiction is FAR from over! It is just getting started! **

**Oh and FYI, I've never flown in a plane before so I don't really know a plane's policy about food and such. My mom said that second class only gets something like peanuts and water. So I based my information over what she said. XD**

**Please review if you want more! :)**


	3. Assessing the Crime Scene

**Okay so I love this fanfiction so much I decided to start writing the third chapter!**

**And at 1:30 AM I might add. :D**

* * *

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

**Chapter Three: **

**Assessing the Crime Scene**

With about ten minutes left of the flight, Vincent stretched his arms and then lightly shook Catherine's arm. She stirred in her sleep but then after a few shakes, she opened her eyes. "What time is it?"

"We're landing in ten minutes." Vincent replied as he put his pillow back into his carryon bag. "Just out of curiosity, which room are you staying at?"

"I believe that's none of your business." Evan stated with disgust.

"Evan, he wasn't asking you." Catherine said sternly. "Now, if I want my friend Vincent to visit me during our investigation, that's my business. Don't get this assignment into your head, Evan. We are NOT married, remember?"

Evan turned back around before he would say anything potentially regretful and Vincent smirked. '_Way to tell him, Catherine._' Catherine pulled out the notepad they were using earlier from Vincent's carryon and found a pen. She wrote down: **Deluxe Room #4. You?**

He took the notepad and pen and wrote: **Deluxe Room #12…JT orchestrated it for me. He probably didn't see the point of paying for more than necessary.**

**Good…that means we'll be close in case…well…in case anything happens. I'm guessing we'll be on the same floor.**

Vincent nodded in agreement and kissed her temple. In order for Evan to hear him, he loudly whispered, "I missed you, Catherine."

She knew exactly what he was doing. He was mainly getting on Evan's nerves and, in a way, she thought it was funny. Who knew Vincent Keller could be this bad?!

"Please fasten your seatbelts. We will be landing soon." The intercom said. Vincent reattached his seatbelt and whispered low enough for Catherine's ears only.

"Meet me in the Greenbrier gardens around eleven in case I don't see you before then. Okay?"

She nodded and smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem." He grinned. Before they knew it, the plane landed and it was time for everyone to exit and retrieve their luggage.

Evan and Tess started walking down the plane's aisle with Catherine and Vincent trailing behind. He carried both his and Catherine's carryons in one hand and played with her fingers with the other hand. She loved the feeling of Vincent constantly touching her whether it was a kiss to the forehead, a caress to the cheek or melting their fingers together; he didn't stop and she was grateful. It helped her keep sane and almost forget about her foreboding assignment. When they walked off of the plane, Vincent obviously stopped massaging her fingers and handed her bag to her.

"Thanks." She smiled while her fingers chose to linger on top of his as she took her bag back.

"You're welcome." He had the sudden urge to kiss her right then and there but knew she had to put on a cover and he couldn't destroy that in the public eye. All four of them grabbed their belongings and made their way to the Greenbrier bus station.

"Okay so Joe just texted me and we are supposed to go to the main building to meet Thomas Gilmore before going to our rooms." Tess said.

Evan and Catherine nodded as the bus finally pulled to a stop. Unfortunately, Vincent sat a few seats away from Catherine because, now, she needed to start putting on a façade with her fake husband.

Vincent watched as the three of them hopped off the bus about five minutes later and noticed Catherine giving him an apologetic look before following her coworkers. He waved, waiting for the bus started moving again. '_Deluxe room #12, here I come._'

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Catherine, Tess and Evan followed one of Greenbrier's staff members and were led into a room with a single desk. Before they received the chance to look around the office, a man walked in and began shaking their hands. "You three must be the detectives. I'm Thomas Gilmore."

"Actually, I'm a coroner. These two are the detectives." Evan said, pointing to Tess and Cat.

"Ahhh…Right. And, what names shall we call you?" Thomas asked, requesting the team to tell him their fake names.

"Regina Valmirez." Tess replied, "I'm supposed to be a maid."

"Right. Of course. I'll have you follow Abigail shortly. She's in charge of making sure the maids are doing their work properly."

"Sounds cool." Tess said.

"And you two?" Thomas looked at Catherine and Evan.

"I am Erik Davies and this is my lovely wife, Olivia Davies." Evan smiled, letting Catherine know just how much he was enjoying this little façade.

"Great! Now, before I let you meander to your housing, I would appreciate it if you could assess the crime scene."

"Absolutely." The three replied together.

"Right this way then." Thomas responded, gesturing the three of them to follow him. After several left and right turns and a few flights of stairs, they entered a 4-room suite marked off with caution tape.

"Please investigate quietly. The guests think this room is under construction. We don't want anyone to know about the double homicide. Now, Erik, was it?"

"Hmm?" Evan looked at Thomas.

"I left the bodies as they were because I didn't know what else to do with them. That's why it smells horrible in here. If you three need face masks, I can retrieve them for you."

"No. That will be quite alright." Evan replied. "Due to our professions, we're used to the smell."

"Right, then. One body is in the bathtub of the Master Bedroom and the other is…well…you'll see it almost immediately upon entering the Master Bedroom." He looked at his watch and added, "Well I'll leave you three for the investigation. If you do need anything, don't hesitate to use the room service phone and request for my assistance. Now, if you don't mind, I have a few things to attend to before the night disappears."

"Do what you need to do." Catherine smiled and Thomas left without another word.

"Alright…let's see the damage." Tess said as the three of them pulled on gloves. Evan, being the one with the least queasy stomach, made his way towards the Master Bedroom first; followed by Tess and Catherine.

"Oh my…." Evan's voice faded as his eyes observed the bedroom. "I think we may be here longer for a week…"

"Who would do this!?" Catherine exclaimed as her stomach started feeling nauseous. "This is horrible!"

Tess carefully walked into the room, step by step, and started taking pictures with her camera. "It's sickening but necessary for the report. The victim looks like his or her body parts were separated one by one."

Evan found a pale, partially decayed arm flopping over the bed and he prudently observed it. "It looks like whatever severed the body apart was a clean cut." He picked up the arm and brought it over to Catherine and Tess. "See the abrasion at the shoulder end? This was not an amateur, that's for sure. In order to make a cut this perfect, the killer had to be a professional—as if he or she has done this before."

"Tell me, can you tell whether or not the victim is male or female? I don't know about you, but unless we find the head or the pubic area, there's no way I'd be able to tell." Tess asked.

"I think I see the head…." Catherine interrupted and pointed towards the shelf above the bed.

"Ugh…it looks like the killer wanted to display it like a trophy! Gross!" Tess shuddered as Evan carefully removed the head from the shelf.

"Based on the decaying skin, I'm guessing this victim died about two days ago." He examined the head and looked as if he was going to throw up.

"Yo, Evan. You okay? It isn't like you to get sick on the job." Tess stated as she gave him a weird look.

"The victim…was a young girl…approximately the age of five." Evan replied as his face grew pale.

"Sickening! And to think the killer could still be at Greenbrier." Catherine stammered. "I think it is safe to say we shouldn't leave until we figure out who the hell did this!"

"I agree. This perp must be locked up ASAP." Tess nodded and Evan placed the head down on the bed.

"Alright…let's see victim #2. Hopefully, he or she won't be as horrible as this one." Tess stated and started her way towards the bathroom. Catherine followed but Evan stayed behind, collecting the body parts he could find, laying them on the rug as gently as possible.

Catherine heard Tess groan in disgust and said, "What do you see?"

"I think this was the girl's mother…It looks like her abdomen and throat were gashed as she was taking a shower. I wonder if she didn't think the person who killed her was a threat. See how she's still facing the direction of the shower head?"

"Yeah…I agree. Wait…what's that in the water?" Catherine asked, pointing to something bobbing up and down.

"Holy sh—is that what I think it is?!"

Catherine bent down closer to the object and gasped with repulsion. "Tess…this has just become a triple homicide. Jane Doe was pregnant…and by the looks of it, she was around six months."

"Sick! Alright, let's get outta here. I'm going to call Joe. See if you can reach Thomas and ask for a guest list. He should know what their names are." Tess stated and Catherine nodded.

As they made their way out of the bathroom, Tess said to Evan, "Whoever did this was brutal. The other vic isn't in too good of shape either…the worst part? She was about six months pregnant, making this a triple homicide."

"Good God!" Evan uttered under his breath. "Who would do such a thing?"

"I don't know but we're going to find out. That's why we're here." Tess answered. "Look, I'm gonna call the boss. Cat's going to see if she can get any identification through Greenbrier's records. Do you need me to get anything while I go outside to make this call?"

"See if you can bring me two metal tables. It's going to be hard working here without my lab…and since there're other guests in this building, we can't exactly move the victims from the rooms."

"Right. I'll do what I can." Tess said. As she left, Catherine said, "You said the killer had to be professional, right?"

"Yes, and strong too. I've observed all of the abrasions and, there's no way a woman or scrawny man could have made them. The weapon had to be at least the size of a kitchen axe. To make these kinds of clean cuts without fail would be almost impossible unless the force was incredibly strong and accurate."

"I wonder…" Catherine thought, "Is it possible a butcher would have the strength and precision to make these cuts?"

"Now that you've brought that up, I found a foreign particle embedded into the muscle of victim #1's right arm. I'm guessing the child's right arm was the first to go. I've put the particle in a petri dish to be examined later but, if I'm correct, I'm banking it on being pig skin."

"So you're saying that whichever weapon was used, it wasn't entirely cleaned?"

"Exactly. Let's just hope it isn't skin from another victim elsewhere."

"Alright, well, I'm going to go see if I can find anything on the victims' names." Catherine stated, "Call if you need anything."

"Right."

As Catherine started making her way to the front lobby, she couldn't remember which rights or lefts to take and she was sure she was lost. '_Damn…Should have paid more attention on my way up here…_'

Suddenly, a door opened and an arm shot out from it, covering her mouth before pulling her into a closet. She squealed into the perpetrator's hand until she heard a soothing voice whisper, "It's okay. It's okay." He released her and she turned around.

"Vincent, you've gotta stop surprising me like that!" she whispered loudly as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Sorry…I smelled blood on my way up here."

"You must have smelled the blood from the crime scene. It's brutal." She replied as she thought about the poor little girl and her mother. "Honestly, there are times I can't even fathom the cruelty in this world and this is one of those cases. It looks like Tess, Evan and I may be staying here for more than a week but we won't know for sure."

"Okay…what happened?" Vincent asked.

"One victim, a woman, had her head nearly severed from her body as well as her stomach. It appears from the way we found her in the bathtub; she didn't think the person who killed her was a threat. The other victim, the woman's daughter from what we gather, was literally chopped apart. There were body pieces everywhere, Vincent. It was sickening. This victim, from what Evan believes, was only five years old!"

Catherine noticed his eyes glowing with disgust and anger but she placed her hands on his face to calm him. "Vincent, calm down. It's okay! We'll find the perp. Got that!? We'll find whoever did this and lock him or her up!"

Vincent breathed slowly, sending the Beast back into dormancy. "Do you have any idea who the perpetrator is?"

"No…not really but we do believe the perp had to be a large man or woman to make the perfect abrasions on the little girl's body. We also think the perp could be a butcher…it would explain the precision of the cuts—each one perfectly straight. If the perp isn't a butcher by profession, we think his or her profession has to do with cutting in some way, shape or form."

"Do you want me to take a look at the crime-scene when your coworkers leave?"

"No…It'll be too risky…I'll suggest to Evan for your help. Besides, you have a stronger stomach than Tess and mine combined. I could hardly stand to look at either victim."

"Alright. In the meantime, I'll go back to my suite. Call me and tell me what Evan says. Okay?"

Catherine nodded and said, "I should probably get back to the lobby. I need to see if I can find Thomas Gilmore—the CEO of Greenbrier—and try to identify the victims."

Vincent brushed a few strands of hair from Catherine's face and muttered, "Be careful."

"I will." She smiled and they exited the closet. "Ummmm…Vincent…Do you know the way back to the lobby? I swear I'm lost."

"Yeah…" he replied as he took her hand before pulling her with him. She grinned even wider. No matter what she was feeling five minutes ago, Vincent was able to erase the nausea away and replace it with butterflies. After seven or so minutes of left and rights, they made it to the main staircase leading down to the main level.

"Thanks, Vincent. I would have never made it back down here without you." Catherine replied as their hands departed, knowing their façades couldn't be broken.

"No problem. Do you think you can remember your way back?"

She laughed. "I can try."

"I can wait if you want."

"No…that's alright. I'll call Tess or Evan if I get lost. Thank you though." She whispered into his ear. "I'm looking forward to 11 PM, Vincent Keller."

As she walked towards Thomas Gilmore's office, he stood there, dumbfounded. Did he just hear right? He smirked and started walking out of Greenbrier's main building. '_Evan doesn't even stand a chance!_' he thought and pulled out his phone, mentally saying, '_I should probably call JT before he has a heart attack._'

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

As Catherine waited for Thomas Gilmore to see her, she couldn't help but look out the window and watch the love of her life walk away from the building as if he were living life again. Seeing him walk freely amongst people without fear of Muirfield was almost unreal. She wished this kind of life would still be with him when they return home but she knew better. She knew he knew better as well but why should those thoughts ruin his fun?

"Mrs. Davies…?"

Suddenly Catherine shook her thoughts, remembering about her cover name and said, "Y-yes?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yes…Sorry…I was just thinking…"

"Abigail told me you wanted to see me?"

"Yes. I was hoping you could tell me the names of the victims. As a part of our job, we need to locate their closest family members and see if they know anything."

"Of course. Give me a moment to search our guest registry." Thomas replied, sitting at his desk.

"Take your time." Catherine said as she took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Thomas's desk.

A few moments passed and Thomas finally said, "There was a family of four staying in that room."

"Their names?" Catherine asked as she pulled out a notepad and pen from her purse.

"Right…Their names: Zachary Phillips, Lilly Phillips, Timothy Phillips and Colette Phillips."

"Thank you. I'm also going to need you to print out a list of all of the employees who had access to that room." Catherine stated.

"I'll have the list sent to your Deluxe Suite later tonight. It will be slipped under the door." Thomas said. "Oh, which reminds me. It would be advisable for your group to leave the crime scene before 10:30 PM tonight. That's around the time the guests will start returning to their suites before retiring for the night. You may presume tomorrow around 9 AM when the daily festivities begin again. I also suggest not working during the night hours due to the fact you and your coworkers are posing as guests. It wouldn't look too good if the three of you were working in that suite in the late hours of the night."

"Right. I'll deliver the message."

"Thank you, Mrs. Davies. I look forward to having you; Mr. Davies and Miss Valmirez join my wife and me for dinner tomorrow night at 6 PM. Have Miss Valmirez meet in my office at approximately 7:30 AM. I would like Abigail to show her what she'll be wearing as she works undercover."

"Of course. I'll be sure to let her know. Where would you like us to meet you for dinner tomorrow night?"

"The Main Dining Room and please dress formal."

"I should be getting back to the room now." Catherine replied before thanking Thomas for his time. She walked up the staircase and looked at her surroundings. There was no way she could remember which way to go.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" she heard Tess holler across the hall.

Catherine ran to her partner and said, "I've got the victim's names. Zachary, Lilly, Timothy and Colette Phillips. Zachary and Timothy are unaccounted for so either they're dead somewhere else or they're involved with the murders somehow."

"Evan just called me about three minutes ago. He found two more bodies."

"Where?!"

"One was a little boy...around the age of nine…his wrists were sliced off so Evan thinks he bled to death. The other body was a man. Evan found his body underneath the Master's Suite's bed. It looks like his body was stuffed under there by the killer. Evan is looking for DNA as we speak. From the way the man's body was sliced and diced, it was sloppier."

"Another killer?"

"No," Tess replied, "Evan believes the man was trying to protect the little girl as he was being cut down…so…as he twisted and turned to protect his daughter, the cuts weren't perfectly severed. It's unfortunate his efforts were for naught. I told Joe not too long ago that it has become a quintuple homicide. He's sending Detective Philmore and Detective Wolansky as backup. They'll also be undercover. He's already spoken to Thomas Gilmore about sending more detectives."

"He has?" Catherine gave Tess a weird look.

"Yeah, why?"

"I just spoke with Thomas. He said nothing to me about the two other bodies or about getting more agents."

"Maybe he thought you already knew." Tess suggested as she shrugged he soldiers.

"Maybe…" but Catherine wasn't completely convinced. "By the way, you need to meet Thomas in his office at 7:30 in the morning. He's going to have Abigail show you what you'll be wearing.

"Okay…Thanks." Tess replied. "Come on. We still have work to do."

"You got that right." Catherine said, reluctant that Tess knew the way back to the crime scene.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

"…And that's why we can't work on this anymore after 10:30 PM." Catherine explained to Tess and Evan. "Oh, and we were invited to dinner…"

"Really? When? Where?" Tess asked.

"6 PM tomorrow night at the Main Dining Room and we're supposed to dress formally." Catherine replied. Speaking of dinner, she was starving.

"Okay…Luckily I packed that black dress I wore at the gallery opening several months ago." Tess replied. "Just wondering, if you two are supposedly newlyweds, why aren't you wearing wedding bands?"

Catherine was just about to say something like, "We decided not to wear them," but Evan intervened and replied, "Because they're still in my pocket and I haven't exactly had time to take them out. By the way, I'm going to need two more tables…Honestly; this is seriously a lot harder to examine the bodies without my lab. Besides, what're we going to do with the bodies while we leave for the night? We can't exactly leave them here."

"Well, there aren't freezers or anything…We can't even bring them to the local morgue because Mr. CEO is afraid of losing Greenbrier's reputation." Catherine stated, "I swear Thomas is either hiding something…He just looks really suspicious."

"Cat, he's probably just nervous due to the fact that his resort could be degraded if any guests found out about this murder." Tess reasoned.

"Yeah…maybe that's just it." Catherine replied. "Well, we still have about an hour or so until 10:30 so while Evan continues examining the bodies, let's rummage through their things and see if we find anything worth our time."

"Right." Tess affirmed. "I'll start with this luggage bag over here."

"And I'll start in the other rooms and see if there's anything in there." Catherine stated as she disappeared from Tess and Evan's sight.

It was definitely going to be a long hour.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

'_Five minutes left until 10:30 PM._' Catherine thought as Tess knocked on the door, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Did you find anything?"

"No." Catherine asked. "You?"

"Actually, I did. I found a crumpled up piece of paper stuffed into a vase next to the master bed. It looks like it was a threat. See? It says: **IF YOU SAY A WORD TO ANYBODY, YOU AND YOUR FAMILY WILL PAY A PRICE!**"

"Why would they just crumple up a threat like that?" Catherine said, confused.

"I'm guessing Mr. Phillip didn't take it seriously and just hid it to hide it from his family."

"This is definitely going to be hard to figure out without equipment." Catherine stated, brushing her bangs from her face. "It's 10:30. We need to get going."

"Right. I'll tell Evan." Tess said before disappearing.

Catherine made her way back to the great room of the suite and waited for her coworkers to exit with her.

"Now that I've collected all of the girl's body parts and organized them as well as laid out the other three bodies, I think tomorrow I'll start sweeping for prints. If I find any, I'll take a picture of it with my phone and email it to the precinct so Joe can send them to the database for identification." Evan said as the three of them walked out of the room after taking off their gloves.

They grabbed their luggage and went down to the front lobby.

"Thank you for leaving in time." Thomas stated as he saw them exiting the main building.

"We'll be back at 9 in the morning." Evan stated.

"That'll be fine. Oh, and if you three need something to eat, don't hesitate to call room service." Thomas said before the three walked out of the building.

Five minutes passed until the bus showed up and they took it back to their suites. Tess was given Deluxe Suite #5 so, when the bus stopped, they hopped of the bus and headed inside the Suite building.

Catherine looked at her watch. 10:45 PM.

The moment they found their rooms, Catherine and Evan went into theirs as Tess walked a few doors down. "Have a good night you two!" Tess winked at Catherine before disappearing inside her room.

Cat glared at the empty Tess space until Evan broke her angry trance and said, "Shall we get ready for bed then?"

Catherine placed her luggage down on the luggage rack and thought quickly. "Ummmm…I think I might get some fresh air. I'm a little nauseous from the crime scene today so I think a walk outside might do me some good."

"Oh! Do you want me to join you?"

"No…I'd rather walk by myself. Say, question before I go."

"What?" Evan asked as he started untying his tie.

"Remember when my friend, Vincent, offered his help for the crime scene?"

"Yeah…What of it?" Evan asked bitterly.

"I think it might be a good idea to ask for his help. Since he is a doctor, he may be able to help test for blood and what not. Besides, the more help, the faster we'll be able to get out of this."

Evan stood still for a minute as he thought over Catherine's suggestion, knowing she was right. "Fine…but I call the shots, got that?"

"Yeah…I'll call him and tell him while I'm on my walk." Catherine said and disappeared before Evan could say anything.

'_Something's up…_' he thought but decided against following her. He'd follow her another time when he wasn't so tired and hungry. '_I swear…I've seen that Vincent guy before…but I can't pinpoint where though._'

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Vincent stood in the center of the garden as he waited for Catherine to show up. '_She should be here soon…_' Suddenly, he heard someone running towards him. He smirked, knowing exactly who the runner was. He spun around and caught her in arms.

"You better learn to slow down or you may hurt someone someday after running into him or her." Vincent chuckled as he released her so she could catch her breath.

"Sorry...I'm… a little…late…." She managed to say between her heavy breathing.

"I've only been here about three minutes so I think you're good." Vincent smirked as he offered his hand to her. "Ready?"

She smiled and took his hand, remembering her words when he asked her what she wished they could be doing if they were ever at Greenbrier together. "_I see ourselves walking along the gardens hand-in-hand as we enjoy the vast beauty around us._"

They strolled along the garden in the dead of night silently as they savored each other's company. Catherine wasn't worried if anyone would catch them being together. Besides, she hasn't met anyone as her fake identity aside from Thomas but he knows she isn't really who she says she is. Besides, even if someone saw them together, she thought it would be a good twist to the undercover story. Who hasn't heard of a marriage gone wrong? She could easily make up a lie that the man she "married" was different than the man she's "married" to now.

Vincent saw a bench in the distance and asked, "Do you want to sit down?"

She nodded and they slowly made their way over to the bench. As they sat down, Catherine wrapped her arms around his left arm and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"It's nice, you know?"

"Hmm?" Vincent looked at her.

"It's nice to finally spend time together without interruptions from JT and my sister, Heather."

"Yeah…it is." Vincent smiled. "So…did you get a chance to ask Evan about me working with you guys?"

"Surprisingly he said you could. I think it is mostly because there's so much he can't do without equipment and getting another person's medical opinion would help. Tess and I aren't very great in that department." She laughed. "I'm glad you'll be able to spend more time with me."

"Yeah…me too." He said.

Suddenly, Catherine's face changed expressions. "The crime…it's now a quintuple homicide, Vincent. I've never witnessed the aftermath of something so horrible before. Most of the crime scenes I've done weren't as gruesome as this one. An entire family was murdered."

"Do you think it was a random family?" Vincent asked.

"No…It seemed more personal…There was a note crumpled inside a vase. It was a death threat but I don't think the victims took it too seriously. At least the person, assuming it was Zachary Phillips, the father, didn't think so."

"Oh…"

"Hey…when you have a chance to, could you…uh…keep an eye on Greenbrier's CEO, Thomas Gilmore? I'm suspicious of him but Tess and Evan seem to disagree with my suspicions. I've learned to trust my gut though, and I just don't like the guy."

"Alright…If I have time to tomorrow, I'll follow him during a lunch break or something. Speaking of which, have you eaten yet?"

"No. I haven't." she replied as her stomach growled. "And obviously my stomach agrees."

Vincent chuckled and said, "I've got some food at my suite. If you want, we can go over there so you can have something to eat. Okay?"

Catherine nodded and muttered a thank you as they stood up to walk back to the suites. She just hopes she doesn't get spotted by anyone going into another man's suite when she's supposed to be 'married.'

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

**Keiko Fujiwara: **

**Well, there's chapter three! **

**I have to say, I did not like writing the crime scene AT ALL! It was sickening to my stomach just to include that! Soooo what do you think about Greenbrier's CEO, Thomas Gilmore?**

**Do you think Cat is right to have suspicions about him? **

**Please review! It makes me motivated to write more! :)**


	4. Evan's Pride

**Important Notice!**

**In case you didn't get a chance to either read Chapter 3 before 1:30 PM (Central time), I've made slight changes to make the story make sense. **

**No worries though! The plot line is still the same…there were just some minor details changed. **

**If you don't want to re-read Chapter 3, here is a small list of what was changed: **

**Lilly Phillips (woman found in bathtub) had both her stomach and her throat slit. **

**She was not less than 3 months. She was around 6 months! **

**If you get a chance to re-read any of the chapters and find something that doesn't make sense, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know! I appreciate it! **

**Again, thank you sooo much for reading/reviewing/alerting/favoring my story: Undercover Disaster! :)**

* * *

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

* * *

**Chapter Four: **

**Evan's Pride**

As quietly as possible, Vincent swiped his key card to unlock Deluxe Room #12 and gestured Catherine to go in ahead of him. She walked in and he closed the door before they sat down at the small table where untouched food was waiting for them.

"Eat as much as you want." Vincent said as Catherine had already started filling her plate. "You must be really hungry."

"You have no idea." She stated before biting into a steamed roll. "Mmmmmm….this is so good!"

"I told you Greenbrier's service was superb." Vincent grinned as he started piling food onto his plate as well.

For fifteen minutes, Catherine and Vincent ate in silence as they enjoyed each other's company.

Suddenly, Catherine's phone began ringing as she took one last bite of her steak. She looked at the name of the caller and through half chewed food, "Ish Ewehn." Vincent gave her a confused look and she swallowed her food, repeating, "It's Evan. He's probably wondering where I am."

She pressed the TALK button and said, "Chandler."

"Where the hell are you, Cat?! You've been out for nearly 45 minutes! Surely it doesn't take THAT long to get some fresh air!"

"Calm down, Evan. I'm fine. Look, I'm on my way back to the building so I'll see you in ten minutes. Okay?"

"If you're not back in fifteen, I'm calling the hotel security." Evan threatened, knowing Catherine wouldn't want to deal with that sort of embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Evan. I'll be back in ten." She sighed and ended the call before he could object. "Honestly," she looked at Vincent, "I swear he's too protective! Doesn't he know I am a qualified ass-kicker?!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, Catherine, but I can't blame the guy." Vincent replied as he walked over to his bed and sat down. She followed him and sat down right next to him, giving him a really puzzled look.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, considering what he's been through, he has every right to worry. He was nearly killed by a psycho frat boy who was right under his wing and then he overheard the Beast ripping the perpetrator into shreds. If I were him, I definitely wouldn't be walking alone at night anymore. He's probably worried about you, Catherine."

"Well, he shouldn't be. I'm a grown woman who is capable of making my own decisions." She stated.

"That you are, Catherine." Vincent chuckled. "Even so, you being your own woman won't stop the people who care about you from worrying. It's in our nature to worry even if it isn't necessary. Hell, I worry about you every single day even when I'm with you."

"You do?" she looked into his eyes with appreciation.

He nodded and said, "Anytime you're with me, you're putting yourself at risk. If you aren't going to worry about your safety with me, someone has to."

"Vincent," she cupped his face with her hands and whispered, "I don't worry about my safety because I don't need to when I'm around you. I know you would never hurt me; even when you aren't completely yourself. If I was worried of being around you, I wouldn't be here, would I?"

"Catherine—there are times I can't contr—"

"I'm not going anywhere, Vincent. I promise. Remember when you blacked out and transformed down in the abandoned tunnels? You weren't entirely yourself but you still didn't hurt me. Like I just told you a few minutes ago, I am my own woman. I make my own decisions and I'm not about to change my mind about you over a conversation started with a phone call from Evan. Trust me, Vincent, I see the real you and as I've said again and again, you have a good heart." Catherine smiled as she brushed a few bangs from his forehead. "Just remember, whatever happens during this undercover mayhem, there's no competition between you and Evan. I've already made my choice."

Vincent swore his heart skipped a beat when processing Catherine's words. He placed his hands on top of hers and removed them from his face. He gently kissed her knuckles and smiled. "Thanks, Catherine…I needed to hear that."

She grinned and planted a kiss on his forehead. "And don't forget it."

Vincent smirked and then his ears focused on something occurring in Catherine's suite. "You better get going…I think Evan is about to call 911 to file a missing Catherine report."

They both slowly made their way to the front door of the suite and Catherine suddenly gave Vincent a tight hug. Vincent's eyes widened in shock from her sudden embrace but softened as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Goodnight." She whispered.

"Goodnight." He replied, giving her a quick peck on the top of her head. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to knock."

"I won't." she smiled before making her way towards her suite. Vincent stared down the hall as he watched her walk away from him. There was no way in denying it now; he was definitely in love with Catherine Chandler and was proud to be a part of the only crime she'll ever commit—stealing his heart.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Catherine swiped her key into her room and entered quietly.

"One more minute later and I swear I was going to call the National Guard."

"Please, Evan, you're taking things too seriously." Catherine silently laughed, heading towards her suitcase. "I'll be back in thirty minutes. I'm going to take a shower." She unzipped the top compartment of her suitcase and pulled out her favorite pjs along with a clean pair of underwear, a sports bra and her toiletries. "You don't need to wait up for me."

Before the British lad could respond, she disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door, locking it. She didn't know if Evan's ulterior motives were pure so there was no way she was going to chance it. She slipped out of her clothes, one by one, and twisted the hot knob all the way to the right before twisting the cold knob slightly to the right to even out the temperature. She loved hot showers and she desperately needed to take one. She slipped out of her clothes and pulled out a towel from the bathroom's closet and placed it on the rack next to the shower. She held out her hand underneath the pouring water and decided it was ready before stepping into the steamy cubical.

She allowed the water to pour full blast against her back before leaning back to submerge her hair underneath the showerhead. As she took her shower, she couldn't help but think about a certain man staying in a room down the hall. She goofily smiled to herself, feeling as if she was a high school teen receiving a Valentine from her crush. She felt the temperature rise in her cheeks and knew it wasn't the water doing the trick. The trigger to her pure giddiness was none other than Vincent Keller.

She started shampooing her hair and suddenly, a thought about the crime scene popped into her mind. '_Lilly Phillips…she didn't seem to think her killer was a threat…but the other victims…at least Zachary and Timothy did. Zachary was protecting his daughter as he was being slaughtered. Timothy was in the closet. What if Timothy was hiding? But if he was, how would the killer know he was in the closet? What if, the killer started with Timothy first? As a message to the rest of the family…then…as he killed Timothy, Zachary and Colette walked in on him…he would have had no choice but to kill Zachary and Colette…but why kill Lilly as well? Lilly was most likely taking a shower during this whole fiasco so why kill her? Something about this doesn't make sense…Unless…the letter wasn't to Zachary but to Lilly…and she was the first to be killed and maybe Timothy saw what happened and turned to hide but he didn't hide in time…the killer saw him enter the closet…_'

Whatever scenario Catherine came up with in her mind, she couldn't put all of the pieces together. There was always some kind of missing link. She decided to stop thinking and start scrubbing if she didn't want Evan to think she drowned in her own shower.

After ten minutes or so, she turned off the water and squeezed the water out of her hair before reaching blindly for her towel. After a few seconds of searching, her hand found the feathery material and she lifted it from the rack. She quickly hand-dried her hair then wrapped the towel around her small frame. She pulled back the shower door and stepped out into the now steamy room.

To feel secure while sharing a room with Evan, she decided to dress very modestly, wearing a sports bra, underwear and long sleeved flannel pajamas. Besides, she loved her black and white flannel pjs. Her pants were white with a pattern of mini black guns and gold badges imprinted on the material and her shirt was black with white writing across the chest area. She giggled as she looked in the mirror, reading the inscription backwards in her reflection: _BADASS COP_

She hung up her towel and opened the bathroom door before stepping out.

"It's about time you came out. Honestly, I'll never understand how women can stand to take long showers."

"And you probably never will." Catherine rolled her eyes as she picked up her borrowed pillows and placed them on the couch as well as grabbed her dark green fleece blanket.

"You do know there's a bed, right?" Evan asked as he looked at her while she continued moving pillows from the bed to the couch.

"I know but Evan, we're not married nor are we dating. Let's not make this into something it's not." Catherine replied.

"You just can't handle yourself around me." Evan smirked as he placed his hands behind his head. "You don't need to be shy Cat. I don't bite."

"Evan, stop creating fantasies in your head. You and I? This? It'll never work out. We're just too different." She said, crossing her arms as she gave him an assertive look.

"We haven't even given 'us' a try yet. How can you be so sure?" Evan asked, insulted.

"Because, Evan, you're not looking for a committed relationship. Trust me, I know you. You are a flirt and once you date a girl around three months, you find some excuse to break it off and find another to start the cycle all over again." Catherine replied.

"Maybe I just haven't found Miss Right yet."

"And what makes you think I'm her? Trust me, Evan, we're just two different people." she said.

Evan wanted to refute her statement but he decided now wasn't exactly the best time. Besides, he has other things to worry about. He'd confront her about this conversation later in the week. Instead, he changed the subject and said, "Those are interesting pjs. Where did you get them?"

"Vincent gave them to me for my birthday." Catherine smiled, glad he asked the question. If anything, she enjoyed flaunting her 'secret' relationship at Evan. He really deserved a newsflash every once and a while to remind him she wasn't his trophy. She was his coworker and nothing more.

"Oh." Evan replied, instantly regretting asking her such a question. "I didn't see him at your party."

"That's because it arrived a day late." She lied. "He couldn't make the time to come out to my party."

"Honestly, Cat, a guy like Vincent is bad news."

"What're you trying to say?!"

"Well, for one, he obviously broke your heart shortly after your mother died. That's heinous! If it were me, I'd at least wait until you've finished coping from her death."

"You don't even know the full story!" She exclaimed even though she didn't know anything about it herself. "He left because he had some personal issues to handle. I understood why he needed to handle them on his own. Hell, during the whole entire coping process, there were times I wish I could just be alone in order to handle it by myself! Don't judge him for something he did in the past. Besides, it wasn't a complete break up. It was more along the lines of temporary separation!"

"Then how come you've never mentioned him before? If he was such a darling to you in college, why didn't you ever brag about him the way you bragged about the other pieces of scum you've dated!?" Evan had no choice but to confront her about Vincent. He was provoked and there was no going back after saying what he said.

"How dare you!?" she spat. "You don't know a single thing about Vincent or about the way he's treated me!"

"It can't be too much different than Zeke..." he muttered but apparently it was loud enough for her to hear.

She grabbed her things and said, "I'm out of here!"

"Wait Catherine!" he shouted, grabbing her arm.

"Let go!" she shouted. "I'll kick you if I have to!"

"Cat, I didn't mean a word of what I said! I'm sorry!"

"Then why did you say it?!"

"Because…that Vincent guy…he seems to bring the worst out of me. I never meant for the conversation to go that far."

"Just because you didn't mean to say what you said, you still said it; meaning, you were thinking about it." Catherine said as she glared at him. "Now, I'm not going to say it again. Let. Me. Go."

"Catherine, I can't let you leave. Who knows if the killer is still out there! Besides, where would you go if you left at this hour?!"

"I'll go and stay with Vincent." She said firmly.

"And you'll risk blowing our cover!? Come on, Catherine! You have more sense than that! If you blow our cover, the killer will clam up and run! Do you want that to happen?"

"N-no." she muttered as she stopped trying to rip her arm away from his grip.

"I'm sorry I said anything about Vincent. You're right. I haven't been giving him a chance yet. I've let my judgment cloud my senses and get the better of me. I won't let that happen again. Look, it's been a long night. Let's just sleep it off so we can get back to work tomorrow. Okay?" He released her arm and she walked back to the couch, defeated. She knew Evan was right; she couldn't blow their cover; not even if she wanted to get away from Evan. "As soon as this crime is solved, I'm going to stay with Vincent."

With that, she pulled back the covers on her makeshift couch-bed and lied down. She knew it was going to be a long night—especially after that intense conversation with Evan. Sometimes, she just wants to slap that charming face of his and put him into his place. She would save that slap for another deserving day. That's for sure.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Catherine tossed and turned throughout the night, not being able to get comfortable. She mentally cursed herself for being the one to offer to sleep on the couch but she knew as sure as hell that Evan wasn't going to volunteer. She sat up and stretched her muscles before walking over to the little table where her phone was charging. '_It's only three in the morning…that means about four or five more hours of this torture…_' She decided there was no way she could get any sleep sleeping on the couch so she unplugged her phone and sluggishly walked over to her carryon bag. She quietly ripped off a sheet from it and grabbed a pen from her bag before writing a little white lie: _**Went to see if I could find a maid to ask her for a cot. Be back whenever. Time left: 5:30 AM.**_

She figured two and a half hours would be plenty of time to steal some sleep elsewhere—whether it was with Tess or Vincent. She snatched her room key and tiptoed out of the suite before she could wake up Evan. Luckily enough for her, he was a deep sleeper.

She quietly walked passed Tess's room and realized Tess had to get up extra early so it wouldn't be fair to invade her beauty sleep so Catherine smirked, knowing what Plan B was. She walked down the hall a little ways and softly knocked on Vincent's door. After a minute or so of standing and waiting, she saw the door swing open and a really tired former doctor rubbing his eyes.

"Something wrong?" he asked but she didn't reply. She was too focused on the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. "Catherine?"

She shook her thoughts away and whispered, "I couldn't sleep. The couch in the suite isn't exactly made for sleeping."

"Come on. I think I can sacrifice space for you." Vincent muttered with sarcasm in his voice. "Is there a time you need to be back in your room?"

"No later than six…I gave me about a three-hour leeway…I just hope Evan doesn't wake up and read the note before 5:30…that wouldn't be too good."

"If he does, I'm sure he'll call your cell." Vincent said as Catherine made herself comfortable on his bed.

"Yeah…" she replied with a tired voice. He scooted himself onto the other side of the bed and draped his right arm over her torso. She suddenly twisted over and planted her head against his left breast and wrapped her arms around his abdomen. He, at first was shocked by her sudden forwardness but smiled as he pulled her closer to him with his arms encircling her small frame.

After thirty minutes of listening to her soft, constant breathing, he finally fell asleep himself. Life couldn't get any better than this…or so he thought.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Catherine woke up and inhaled a deep breath before her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. She couldn't help but smile to the fact that she was right where she wanted to be—Vincent's arms. She looked over his shoulder and stared at the clock. '_5:30 AM_' She frowned, knowing that their peaceful time together was almost over.

"Did you sleep better?" Vincent asked, startling her. She grinned and nodded.

"I don't think I've ever slept so peacefully before."

"Same here." He smirked. "By the way, nice choice of pjs."

"Thanks."

"Who gave them to you?" he asked, playfully.

"Oh…hmmm…now that you've asked me, I can't seem to put a name with a face..." she looked up as she placed her right pointer finger on her chin. "Whoever he was, I haven't had a chance to properly thank him."

"Oh?"

"Yeah…I didn't get the opportunity to tell him that of all of my presents I received on my 28th birthday, his was the best one." She smiled.

"Well…I think I know who you're talking about. Strapping young lad with a bipolar complex right?" He laughed.

"Yeah! That's who I'm talking about! Could you give him a message for me?"

"Sure. I think that can be arranged."

"Tell him his gift was really sweet and thoughtful." Her eyes shimmered as she gazed into his.

"Anything else?"

Just as she was about to make a rapid decision to press her lips against his, her cellphone rang. She mentally cursed Aphrodite as she pulled the beeping mechanical device from her pocket.

"Hello?" she groaned.

"Cat? Where're you?"

"I couldn't find any mattresses. I'm on my way back. I'll be there in a minute." She muttered before ending the call. "Looks like you're going to have to wait to deliver the message."

"I'm positive he'll be willing to receive it at any time."

She slid off of the bed and pecked his cheek. "Bye."

As she walked backwards away from him like a giddy high school girl, he couldn't think of what to say so he waved a farewell. As she slowly disappeared from the room, he wondered whether or not she knew what she does to him. Just as he was about to go back asleep, his cellphone rang.

He groaned with annoyance and thought about not answering it but knew that option was not available to him. JT would seriously die from heart failure if Vincent never answered any of his calls.

"It's 5:50 in the morning, man! Don't you have any common sense?"

"I was just wondering if you made it through your first night at Greenbrier."

"Night #1 was pretty successful. Now, I would like to go back to sleep, JT. Some of us don't like conversing in the wee hours of the morning."

"Fine but be sure to call in a few hours or so…If you don't, I'll leave you a lot of Hate messages. Got that, Keller?"

"Yes, JT. Roger that." Vincent replied before ending the call. Even though he told JT he was planning on sleeping again, he couldn't stop thinking about a certain cop a few doors down the hall. Catherine was right; there was no need for him to be jealous of Evan. There was no competition but that still didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun. He was going to MAKE SURE Evan Marks knew Catherine wasn't available. '_I think it's time to start meddling between the Mr. and Mrs. Davies's marriage…_' He smirked at the thought of starting a fake affair with Catherine Chandler. It would certainly shake things up a bit but who hasn't heard of a marriage gone wrong? It certainly wouldn't be the first.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

"Trouble in paradise?" Tess asked as Catherine and Evan made their way to the Main Dining Room for a nice breakfast.

"You have no idea." Catherine replied, giving Evan an annoyed look. Evan simply ignored her glare and pretended as if everything was perfect.

"Every couple has their fights." He grinned and pulled a chair back for Catherine. "Isn't that right DARLING?" Catherine couldn't believe this! When she had returned to the suite, she told Evan she wanted out. She told him she wanted to pretend to be Vincent's wife and not his. Evan wouldn't hear any of it! She told Evan that if he didn't let her be fake-married to Vincent, she would pretend to start an affair with him. Evan basically stated that he wasn't going to have that conversation and ignored her for the rest of the night. Catherine was certainly a pissed off fake wife.

"Don't even go there." She said with grotesque. She knew she wasn't going to enjoy sharing a room with Evan but Joe wouldn't listen to her. "Some of us need to start growing up after we turn thirty."

"Woah…what the hell happened between you last night?!" Tess asked with a shocked expression. "I mean, it's like you're a different person, Ca—I mean, Olivia. What happened to Miss Evan Marks Flirty Pants I used to know you as?"

"People change." She replied. "Anyways, Regina, where is your uniform?"

"I don't start working until 9…at 8:30 I'll go back and change." Tess said. "Hey, isn't that Vincent or whatever his name is?"

Catherine looked towards the direction Tess was pointing and smiled. Tess watched as the two of them tossed loving expressions towards one another. She's never seen her partner, Cat, look at any man like that before—not even Evan.

"Can I join the three of you? I don't know anyone else here and I'd rather not eat alone." Vincent asked, shaking Tess from her thoughts.

"Sure…have a seat." Tess replied before Evan could object. Vincent sat down in the empty chair next to Tess and told her thank you.

"Have you guys ordered yet?" Catherine shook her head and blushed when she felt Vincent grab her hand from underneath the table.

"Good." He replied. "I was hoping I'd get here in time."

"Or you planned on invading our party the whole entire time." Evan muttered but Catherine and Vincent both overheard him, deciding to ignore him so there wouldn't be any bloodshed in the near future.

Tess observed how happy Catherine looked as Vincent literally stared only at her as if no one else existed. She also noted how Evan was glaring at Vincent in disgust. '_Yup…this whole fake marriage thing between Cat and Evan is just about to get interesting…I think there may be an affair starting soon._' She smirked. She didn't care if Catherine 'divorced' Evan for the hunk sitting beside her. She would probably do the same thing.

Suddenly, a waitress came by and said, "Hello, my name is Chelsea and I'm going to be serving you today. Will there be anything you'd like to drink?"

"I'll have water." Tess replied.

"And for you three?" Chelsea asked as she looked at Evan, Catherine and Vincent.

"I'll have water as well." Catherine said.

Chelsea looked at Vincent and he asked for a Diet Coke and then her eyes met Evan's. "You, sir?"

"I'll have me a Sprite." He replied in his charming British accent.

She handed the group their menus and as she winked at Evan, she exclaimed, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

The group silently waited until Chelsea came back with their drinks and they then ordered their breakfast. As Chelsea placed Evan's drink in front of him, she placed a straw next to his drink with her cellphone number written on the wrapping. She winked once more at him before skipping off to the next table.

"Teenagers…I don't know what it is but they all seem to love me." Evan smirked as he turned back towards the group. "But only ONE ever stole my heart."

"Oh?" Vincent smirked. "Are you referring to your mother?"

Both Catherine and Tess nearly spat out their drinks because of their sudden fits of laughter exiting their diaphragm. As Tess wiped her eyes from potential tears, she continued to giggle. "Okay, I just have to say, no offense ERIK, but that remark just made my day!"

"None taken, Regina. I saw that coming." He lied. Evan couldn't stand the feeling of being humiliated in front of Cat! '_The nerve of that guy!_' "As a matter of fact, Vincent," he cleared his throat, "I was referring to my lovely wife Olivia."

Without warning, he leaned and kissed Catherine on the cheek.

Catherine tensed up while receiving a cheek kiss from him as if she were being slobbered on by her most hated aunt.

Luckily, during the entire kissing cheek torture, Vincent did not once release her hand from under the table. In a way, it also kept him calm from ripping Evan's lips off of his face.

"Here's your food!" Chelsea beamed as she brought over a large tray of filled plates.

As Chelsea was passing out the food, Evan exclaimed. "Oh! That's right!" Everyone gave him a weird look, even Chelsea. "Olivia, you left your ring sitting by the sink as you washed your face this morning. You're such a forgetful person, silly."

As he kissed her cheek again, he slipped the fake wedding ring over her left ring finger and Chelsea squealed. "OMG! Did you two…like…just marry?!"

"That would be correct!" Evan beamed. He had to start some kind of scene. He wanted to use this fake wedding scenario to make a move onto Catherine and if it had to be within the public eye, he knew she couldn't back out of it. "We just married three days ago!"

"Ooooh! I love newlyweds! Come on! Kiss her for me! I love it when couples kiss! It's sooooo romantic!"

If Evan wasn't enjoying himself right now, he would have thought Chelsea was being weird but he didn't pay any mind. "Just tell me where."

Catherine glared at Evan but, like all the other times, he ignored her looks of hatred. Even Vincent and Tess thought what Evan was doing was incredibly low.

"Kiss her on the lips!" Chelsea squealed and three more teenage waitresses stood beside her to support this new movement.

Suddenly, Evan sensed evil glares from all three of the people sitting around him and he instantly stuttered, "Ah…B-but…we are m-more of a p-p-private couple…We d-don't like kissing in p-public."

Out of nowhere, an elderly man, probably a pervert of some sort, yelled from across the dining room, "KISS HER ON THE LIPS! KISS HER ON THE LIPS! KISS HER ON THE LIPS!"

Eventually, the entire room roared, chanting for Evan to kiss Catherine. Catherine was never going to forgive him for this. One reason Catherine was going to hate him was because he willingly brought on this entire uproar and the second reason was because they were undercover, she had to also make it look real.

As he caved-in from the peer pressure, he hastily pressed his lips against hers in an effort to shut the crowd up. This just made them want even more. The same man who started the uproar, he screamed, "GIVE HER SOME TONGUE!"

Vincent couldn't watch as Evan literally forced his tongue into Catherine's mouth. He knew Catherine was trying so hard to keep Evan's tongue from entering past her lips but he eventually won the battle.

As people started to clap, Evan slowly removed his lips from hers and muttered, "See that wasn't so bad."

"You are a jerk." Catherine muttered under her breath before she started jamming her food into her mouth. The last taste she wanted to remember was the awful taste of Evan's tongue swiping across hers. As she finished her food in a hurry, she stood up and said, "I'll be going to the crime scene now."

As Evan started to follow her, Vincent abruptly stood up and chased her. It was either chase Catherine or wait until he and Evan were alone so he could tear his head off.

Evan stared back at his food feeling mixed emotions. Yes, he was proud that he was able to finally give Catherine the kiss he's always wanted to share with her. It was nothing like the kiss he gave her at her birthday party. This kiss was way more intimate on his part. But a small part of him felt horrible for doing that to his friend in front of all of those people. She was probably completely embarrassed. He was surprised she didn't slap him. He looked up at Tess and she gave him a look of disgust.

"I knew you were a flirt, dude, but seriously. That was messed up and wrong. Just be glad she didn't bite your tongue in the process. If I were you, I would stay away from her as much as possible…Who knows what she may do to you."

With that, Tess walked off and made Evan feel worse than he ever thought he would.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

**Keiko Fujiwara: **

**Alright, there's chapter four! **

**What did you think?! **

**I personally wanna slap Evan so much! DX (Sorry, Evan-fans!)**

**What do you think will happen when Vincent meets up with Catherine?!**

**By the way, while writing this chapter, I've been playing **_**Wherever You Will Go**_** on a nonstop loop! :D That was the song played will Vincent and Catherine danced in Bridesmaid Up! If you haven't listened to the entire song yet, I advise you to do so! IT is SOOOO beautiful! XD**


	5. Split-Second Decision

**WARNING: SUGGESTIVE MATERIAL IN THIS CHAPTER!**

* * *

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

* * *

**Chapter Five: **

**Split-Second Decision**

Catherine ran as fast as she could towards the crime scene. She couldn't allow her co-workers to see her tears streaming from her face. She thought she could handle being Evan's fake wife for a few days to solve this quintuple homicide but after that petty show Evan basically presented to the entire Greenbrier guest list of people, she just couldn't take it anymore! She had enough of it! She couldn't believe how incredibly spiteful Evan acted! He could have just kept those damn rings in his pocket for all she cared.

As she ran down several left and right turns, she didn't even care where she was going anymore. Hell, she didn't even KNOW where she was going anymore. She was in a different wing than where she was supposed to be. She heard her name being called in the distance as she sank to her knees, helpless. Sure, she's suffered through worse guy problems but Evan—her supposed friend—crossed the line. All of the guys in her past treated her like she was just another trophy to present to the world. Zeke was the worst. And now, even though Evan Marks was never her boyfriend, he humiliated her just like her past boyfriends. He presented her like a prize; just like she always thought he would.

She stood up and continued to run down a deserted hallway, she suddenly stopped when Vincent gently grabbed her wrist. She tried wiping her tears from her eyes to hide her humiliation but she knew he saw through her façade. He gently tugged on her arm, pulling her right into his embrace. She felt her face pressing against his strong chest as her arms hung almost lifeless beside her. Suddenly, Vincent whispered something that made all of her guarded walls fall apart, sending endless tears to her eyes. She pounded on his chest as her world caved in from under her feet. Not once did he let go of her. He just pulled her tighter to his body. He hated seeing her in this condition but what could he do? He was not very good at consoling broken hearts but he just couldn't stand seeing her like this.

"Catherine…" he whispered. He wanted her to know he shared her sympathy as well as her anger. If he had it his way, Evan would have been thrown halfway across the room for even considering on kissing her. After fifteen or so minutes of nonstop crying, he could tell her voice was going dry. He kissed the top of her head and said, "Come on." Without saying another word, he picked her up and carried her down the steps.

"Is she alright?" a concerned maid asked as Vincent held Catherine close to his chest, much like the time after she was shot.

"She'll be fine. I'm a doctor and I'm taking her back to her suite to get some rest." Vincent said before exiting the building. The case can wait for now. As he walked away from the main building, he heard Evan running up to him.

"Where're you taking her?"

"As if it's any business of yours." Vincent scowled, trying to control his current death fetish for a certain British coroner.

"Look, I didn't mean for the kissing to go too far. It was the crowd's doing, not mine." Evan stated.

"Are you serious right now? Do you honestly not get it?!" Vincent barked. "It was ONLY the crowd's doing because you provoked them! If you only just swallowed your pride and not let the best of it consume you, then maybe you wouldn't have been so stupid to pull out the lousy fake wedding band."

"Look, mate. It wasn't my fault for this undercover assignment. We were assigned by our boss to act like a married couple! Don't be pinning this on me when it was our job in the first case to be all lovey-dovey."

"You just don't get it do you?! Your job was never to act like a husband to Catherine. Your job was to put on a façade so you can get access to the crime scene WITHOUT guest interference. If they saw you as a forensic scientist, the guests would start to worry. Sure, the most you two were probably going to have to do was hold hands as you travel from one place to another to throw off suspicion but you didn't have to humiliate her like that and kiss her in front of ALL those people!"

Evan could have sworn he saw Vincent's eyes shift yellow but he noted it off as a trick of the light. "Married couples kiss. Alright?! If we didn't share a kiss, people would think we were imposters or something."

"Yeah but you didn't have to surprise her like that! You basically ambushed her and in front of a crowd of at least three hundred people no less! Besides, not all married couples kiss in public. If you knew her like I do, you would know that she is a very secretive person. She doesn't just kiss people because she thinks it's fun."

"Her flirty attitude over the past six years state otherwise." Evan scoffed.

"Oh right! I forgot! You're quite the expert on women aren't you?!" Vincent stated with sarcasm. "In case you haven't noticed, Catherine Chandler is different than other women. Just because she flirted with you in the past doesn't give you the right to kiss her when you want to. As a medical expert, you should know that flirting can be a sign of insecurity; not an open door to sex. I know I barely know you but I care about Catherine. I always have and so, if she doesn't tell you later when she sees you, I'm going to tell you it now. You were WAY out of line this morning! She didn't deserve to be ambushed like that!"

"And you think you're better for her?!" Evan asked, aghast from Vincent's attitude towards him.

"Not a chance! But I'm willing to go the distance for her! If, in the future, she ever asked me to bring her home a star from the sky, I'd bring home a galaxy because she's far worth more than any star in the universe. If a gun was ever pointed in her direction, I would step in front and gladly take the bullet for her. What about you? Would you be willing to make a split-second decision and take a bullet for her?!" Vincent asked, still trying to keep the Beast inside of him.

Evan didn't answer. In all honesty, he never thought about Catherine Chandler in that way. Sure, he cared for her but to what extent? Would he be willing to heed her bidding? Maybe so. Would he be able to push her out of the way and take a bullet in her stead? Most likely not. He could see the altruism in this man's eyes and he knew there was no way he could ever compete with that. It was clear to him now that Vincent really cared about Catherine—more than he ever could. "Looks like you win, mate. I can't compete with you anymore." He sighed.

"That's where you're wrong, Evan." Vincent stated. "There was no competition to begin with." Evan watched Vincent as he pressed his lips against Catherine's forehead. Something nagged at him when he saw Vincent kiss Cat's head. He's seen this before.

"Oh my God…" Evan suddenly gasped. "You're him!"

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked, fearing his cover was blown.

"You're the man who pulled Cat out of the car the night of her wreck. I know I've seen you before!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Vincent tried to stay calm.

"Don't play dumb with me, Vincent. I know it was you. You're holding her the same way she was held that very night. Except…you looked a little bit different…"

"You must have me mistaken for someone else. I haven't seen Catherine in almost ten years."

Evan thought about it and realized that Vincent could be right. It was dark out so who knows what or who he actually saw. "Maybe you're right."

Vincent started walking without another word until a thought stopped him and made him turn around. "Just to let you know, Evan, Catherine is staying with me from now on. It's clear she won't want to stay with you after what's happened. I suggest you two pretend you don't know each other for the remainder of your stay."

With that, he turned back around and walked away before Evan could try and question him again. '_That was close…_'

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Tess stepped over the caution tape in front of the crime scene's door and heard a noise coming from the master bedroom. She didn't have her gun due to the ugly outfit she was wearing so she looked around for anything she could use to attack her possible assailant. '_Damn…I guess I'll just have to use this crappy dusting stick._'

She walked closer to the door of the master bedroom and saw someone's shadow, indicating there was someone hiding to the right of the door. She took one step closer, so did the perp. Just as she was about to ram her duster into the head of the creep, she was threatened with an old man's cane. She squinted her eyes and said, "W-wolansky?!"

"V-vargas?!" He replied, lowering his cane. "Where's your so called partner?"

"She's…not feeling well at the moment. Evan should be on his way up soon. Where's Philmore?"

"He's trying to talk with other residents on this floor to see if they saw or heard anything. Don't worry; he's not going to blow our covers. You know, I never thought I'd peg you as the maid type but you're workin' that outfit pretty damn well." Wolansky smirked.

"Save your breath." She rolled her eyes. "I could say the same about you, old fart."

"Philmore is posing as a news reporter. I think he got the better deal." Wolansky smirked as Detective Philmore walked back in.

"Did you get anything?" Tess asked.

"Actually, I did."

"What?" Tess and her former partner asked at the same time.

"Emily Sheridan, a woman who is staying in a room a few doors down, claimed to have heard people screaming from this room. She was too scared to walk out and see if everything was alright but later that night, she went to talk to Thomas Gilmore. He assured her she was hallucinating and that if she ever tried to tell anyone what she may have heard, she'd be exiled from Greenbrier in an instant."

"Why would the CEO tell her she was hallucinating if he was the one who called for us?" Wolansky asked.

"It's possible he didn't believe her until a maid went in to clean the suite. A maid would have surly noticed the bodies before anyone else."

"Tess, is it possible for you to find out who was working during on this floor during the time of deaths?" Detective Philmore asked.

"No problem. Leave that to me."

Suddenly, Evan came in and said, "Found this under the door of my suite this morning. I didn't want to bring it up until we were away from the crowd."

"Yeah…but that didn't stop you from doing OTHER things not called for." Tess said, sending a glare towards Evan's direction.

"Dude! I saw that!" Wolansky smiled. "That was wickedly awesome! Give me a high five for getting one with the ladies!"

Evan ignored him and Tess slapped Wolansky in the head before the coroner continued. "ANYWAYS, I think Cat must have requested it. It's a list of everyone who has access to this room."

"Great…this is a start. Like I said, Tess, you find out what you can with the maids. Wolansky, you…stay and help Evan. If there's anything he needs, don't hesitate and get it for him. I'll start on this list and ask Mr. CEO if he could gather all of these people in a single room for a secret interrogation."

"How're you going to conduct a secret interrogation?"

"I'm going to pretend I'm writing a story for Greenbrier's finest employees. I'll ask them questions like who has night shifts and who has third floor shifts…things like that."

"I get it so you'll find the perp by process of elimination." Tess stated.

"Precisely." Detective Philmore replied before leaving the crime scene. Tess soon followed; glad to get away from both Evan and Wolansky.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Vincent placed Catherine on his bed and pulled off her shoes before pulling the covers over her. As he was about to leave so she can have her privacy, she managed to grab his wrist, begging him to stay with her.

Vincent sighed, and walked over to the other side of the bed before sliding himself underneath the covers to join her. She, just like the other night, twisted under the sheets and buried her face into his right breast as she wrapped her arms around him. He kissed the top of her head and tried to comfort her as best as he could.

"I can't believe I was so stupid." He heard her mutter under her breath.

"Catherine," he whispered, "Don't you blame yourself for what Evan did."

"I should have seen it coming!" she exclaimed. "Evan is a flirt. He's always been a flirt so I should have known he would have tried something like this."

"Catherine, no one anticipated it! I know you didn't hear Tess as you ran out of the dining room but she called Evan out on it, telling him that what he did was super low. I would have thrown him from his seat if I knew he was actually going to go through with it! He shouldn't have ambushed you like that and I shouldn't have let him. I should have snapped his neck when I had the chance!"

Catherine looked up and Vincent's eyes were yellow and his veins were darkening. She held him tighter and whispered, "Calm down." She could feel his muscles slowly retracting and she continued to hold him as tight as she could.

"Sorry." He muttered, apologizing for slightly losing control like that.

She shook her head and sat up. "No…Don't be. In all honesty, I was hoping you'd punch him after I left. I guess I was asking for too much." She somewhat grinned.

"I was tempted. Believe me. I was definitely tempted." Vincent replied as he sat up as well.

"I'll be right back." Catherine whispered before slipping out of the bed. She walked over to the bathroom and closed the door, leaving a very confused Vincent Keller waiting in the bed.

Catherine closed her eyes when she shut the bathroom door behind her. She walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet before splashing her face with cold water. After drying off her face, she opened the door back up and walked towards the bed.

"All better?" Vincent asked.

"A little…Thanks, Vincent. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you." She smiled. "You seem to know just what to say without fail. And I appreciate everything you've done to make me feel special—something no other man in my life has ever done before."

Vincent noticed a slight blush covering Catherine's cheeks. He was about to say something but she continued.

"I heard what you were saying to Evan…"

"You h-heard that?" He suddenly felt nervous.

She smiled, "Yes. I did. I was exhausted; not sleeping."

"W-what do you remember?"

Suddenly, she hopped onto the bed and surprisingly straddled him against the bed. As he gulped she whispered, "I remember you saying how you'd go the distance for me."

"It's true." Vincent replied as his heartbeat increased.

"I know." She smiled. "If it weren't, Vincent, you wouldn't be here with me. You were willing to risk everything you've done so far in order to be here with me. That means a lot, Vincent. I don't think any other man would have gone to great lengths in order to make sure I was safe."

"Catherine, I'd do anything for you." He said as he began running fingers through her hair. "Even if that means risking my identity."

She couldn't help but grin—remembering a certain conversation before her father's wedding. "Are you still willing on being Vincent Zalanski forever?"

"In a heartbeat." He whispered before planting a kiss on her forehead.

As he leaned back down, he froze when he felt Catherine's lips right up to his ear, whispering, "I still have a message to deliver."

He smirked and said, "Oh?"

**SUGGESTIVE MATERIAL BEGINS HERE!**

She slowly nodded before courageously pressing her lips against his. She only meant for it to be a simple peck on the lips but she soon found herself thirsting for more. Her fingers twisted and tangled into his hair as his hands snaked behind her back to pull her closer to him. Ten years ago, he never thought he would be in a hotel room passionately kissing Catherine Chandler but he was and there wasn't anything he'd change about his life if this was exactly where it was leading him.

He felt her tongue glide passed his lips and brush against his own tongue and before long, their tongues were delving into each other's mouths, familiarizing each individual taste. In a heat of passion, Catherine slid her hands underneath the hem of his shirt and slipped it over his head before finding herself trapped between the bed and Vincent's strong body. His lips moved slowly down her neck, causing small moans to exit from her throat. She blushed as she felt his fingers unbuttoning her blouse as he continued to brush his lips across her skin. He managed to fling the blouse elsewhere in the room before pressing his lips back to hers in efforts to prove his love to her. She involuntarily wrapped her legs against his waist and moaned when his lips moved from her mouth to the center of her chest, between her breasts.

As Vincent trailed his lips back to hers, Catherine's cellphone rang, startling them both from their little world. Catherine dug into her pants pocket and looked at the Caller ID. "Tess." She said.

**SUGGESTIVE MATERIAL ENDS HERE!**

"You should answer it then."

"Right…" Catherine replied, sitting up. She pressed the talk button and placed the phone against her ear. "Chandler."

"Hey, Bud. I hate to bother you right now but could your friend Vincent come to the crime scene? Philmore asked Wolansky to help Evan but Wolansky is being an ass and seriously I swear his IQ has just dropped. So, since Vincent is more medically inclined than the rest of us, do you think he can try and help Evan without biting his head off?"

Catherine looked towards Vincent for his answer, knowing he was listening to the conversation and he nodded, whispering, "I think I can tolerate him on a professional level." She smiled; glad he was willing to still help and replied to Tess, "I think I can get him to come. We'll be up there in about ten. Alright?"

"Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, if you decide to come and help too, I won't stop you from slapping Evan. He deserves a whooping for what he did to you."

"I'll be fine Tess. Besides, we have a job to do. I can save my wrath for after the investigation." Catherine said as she felt Vincent's hands massaging her shoulders.

"Okay. Sounds good. See you in ten." Tess stated before hanging up on Catherine. She put her phone back in her pocket and said, "Looks like we'll have to take a rain check."

Vincent nodded and slipped off of the bed along with Catherine and handed her blouse to her. She smiled, taking it from him before buttoning the material around her body. Vincent bent down, picked up his own shirt, and slid it over his head. "By the way, Catherine, I'm not sure if I'll be able to deliver such a provocative message to your friend. It'll be way too awkward." He smirked as she playfully smacked him in the arm.

"Then I guess I'll just have to resend it later." She sneered in response.

"I'm betting on it." Vincent chuckled before leaning in to kiss her again. He wondered what would have happened if Tess hadn't called. Would they have gone pass the point of no return? Or would they have stopped short before anything too much happened? As his mind wrapped around all of the different possibilities of where he and Catherine could have gone, Catherine shook him out of his trance by calling his name. "Vincent?"

"C-coming." He said before picking up a briefcase.

"What's in there?"

"A few doctor tools I thought might be useful for the trip." He replied as he laced his fingers with Catherine's.

"So what're we going to tell everyone who saw the little presentation this morning? They're going to realize I'm with a different man."

"Open relationship? Affair? Evan is mentally delusional?" Vincent suggested as Catherine laughed at the last suggestion.

"I like the third one. We'll use that." She grinned, wanting as much revenge on Evan as she could get. There was NO WAY he was getting off easy. She was going to make his next year of life a living hell.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

As Tess looked through more drawers and doors, Catherine and Vincent appeared at the crime scene.

"It's about time you two got here! What happened? Took a stroll in La La Land?" Tess asked with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, just a lot of stairs." Catherine lied. She couldn't actually tell her partner that, on their way to the crime scene, Vincent had pulled her into a dark corridor and fused his lips with hers—distracting her for almost seven minutes.

Tess noticed how raw both Vincent and Cat's lips were and knew exactly why they were late. "Uh huh…Sure. Anyways, right now Detective Philmore is running a fake interrogation and Wolansky and Evan are trying to find anything that could give us more clues to the murder weapon. Cat, by the way, the list you requested, is taped to the window. I've also circled all of the names of the maids who worked in this hallway during the time of death from what Abigail told me."

"Okay." Catherine replied as she walked over the caution tape and made her way to the window with Vincent in tow. She ran her finger down the list and noticed a name added that wasn't on the original list. "Tess, why is Eliza Summers hand-written on the list?"

"Well, Abigail told me she was the maid sent to clean this suite and the next suite. Funny thing is, as you've noticed, her name isn't on the list the CEO-guy gave you."

"What if she witnessed the murder, saw who murdered the family, tried to report it but the murderer got to her before she could say anything?" Catherine suggested.

"Well, interesting theory, Cat. Abigail mentioned something like Eliza Summers not showing up to work since her late night shift. Either she was too scared to come forward or something indeed happened to her." Tess stated.

Suddenly, Vincent interjected, saying, "If she never showed up for work, wouldn't her name still be on the list though? I mean, it is one thing if she resigned but if she just left, her name would have still been on the list because the CEO or whoever is in charge of the hiring would have probably assumed she was sick or missing. But, there haven't been any reports of a missing person have there?"

"We don't know. I could give a call to the local precinct and see if anyone has reported a missing person." Tess replied. "Yeah, I'll go do that." She walked out of the crime scene suite as Catherine pulled Vincent to the side, away from any other cop ears.

"What is it Catherine?"

"I think you have a good theory, Vincent. Thomas Gilmore knows we are cops because he sent for us. Don't you think he would have told us if he thought an employee was missing?"

"Unless he's our killer and tried to shut her up by sending her on her way or killing her." Vincent replied.

"Okay…well, once Tess gets the information from the local precinct for Eliza Summers, I think she and I should pay a visit to her residence. If she's a maid here, she probably lives in one of the suites at Greenbrier. Either that, or she lives very close by."

"Good plan. Make sure you stop by to grab your gun and badge." Vincent said.

"I will. Thanks for reminding me. While I go and find Tess, try and behave around Evan. Despite what he's done, he doesn't deserve to be thrown across the room. Don't worry, I have a full proof plan of revenge in stock." She whispered before kissing him.

Evan scoffed as he watched the two of them make-out in front of him. Even if he told Vincent that he lost the Catherine Competition, he still didn't like the doctor very much. In fact, if he weren't trying to be professional right now, he'd walk right up to him and punch him for 'stealing' Catherine from him. After thinking about what he said to Vincent earlier in the day, he realized that Cat was too good of a woman to lose her to a lowlife such as Vincent. After this crime investigation is over, he'll make sure he shows Catherine just how much he does care about her—even if he cares for her differently than Vincent Zalanski.

Evan cleared his throat to stop the two before they started making love right in front of him and Catherine removed her lips from Vincent's. As she walked out of the room, she gave Evan a death glare before disappearing.

"Alright, mate, let's see what you can do." Evan said and Vincent walked over to him.

"Something's not right." Vincent stated.

"What do you mean?"

Vincent ignored Evan and searched the suite for the odd smell intruding his nose. There was a foreign smell in the suite.

"Something smells like its burning." Vincent said gravely.

"Burning? Burning how?"

Vincent focused on his senses and heard ticking coming from family room. He saw a fireplace and realized the ticking was a timer for the fire to ignite in five minutes. "GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"

Evan and Detective Wolansky heard Vincent's command looked at him weirdly.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! THE SUITE IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE!" Vincent shouted as he grabbed the list of suspects and literally locked his arms around Evan and Wolansky before opening a window.

"Hurry and jump out the window!"

"Are you mad! We're three stories up!"

"Would you rather be blown to bits and pieces then?" Vincent asked as he couldn't believe they were arguing with him. "Look, below. There's a roof for a walkway underneath us. Jump onto that before jumping to the ground. Then run to the tree off in the distance."

"Where are you going?!"

"I'm going to warn Catherine and Tess! Just go! Take this with you!" He gave the list of suspects to Evan and ran out of the suite's door before they could ask any other questions. Evan and Wolansky thought Vincent was crazy but he seemed as if he was telling the truth so, without further ado, they did as he said and jumped onto the small roof underneath them, only earning a few bruises in the process.

"That guy Cat's into is totally insane!" Wolansky shouted as he and Evan ran to the tree.

"Something tells me he's telling the truth. I think I know where I've seen him before and knowing what he's capable of doing, I somewhat trust his instincts." Evan replied.

"What do you mean by what he's capable of? He's not some kind of freakazoid is he?"

"Nevermind! Our main priority is making sure Cat, Tess, and God forbid I include him, but Vincent as well." Evan stated.

"Well, if that suite doesn't blow up, I'm suing him for literally endangering our lives by making us jump out of a window."

Evan didn't say a word. He just focused on the suite window of Greenbrier. '_Vincent said something smelled like it was burning…What if what he smelled was gas?_'

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Vincent pulled his cell phone out of his pocket as he searched for Catherine and Tess. He dialed her number and pressed the phone to his ear. '_Come on! Come on! Answer Catherine!_' The line continued to send him to voicemail so he slammed his phone back into his pocket and tried to sniff her out. He could hear Tess's voice on the phone with her boss originating from the front of the Greenbrier building. But he couldn't smell or hear Catherine anywhere. As he was running down a flight of stairs, he heard her say, "Vincent? Evan? Andrew? Where are you?"

'_Damn it! She's back in the suite. I can't get there in time unless I_—" Without thinking of the matter any further, he summoned the Beast, hoping it had the same desire to save Catherine. He felt his muscles ripple and noticed his veins blackening. He ran as fast as he possibly could back to the crime scene and saw Catherine searching the room.

"Vincent!" she exclaimed as she saw him in his beast form. He looked at the clock and noticed it had only ten seconds left. He grabbed his briefcase and wrapped his strong arm around her waist before jumping out of the window as a split second decision. As he and Catherine were in midair, they could feel the explosion of the suite slam against their backs, sending them flailing towards the ground.

Vincent held onto Catherine as tight as he could with one arm wrapped around her waist and the other wrapped around her head to keep her from having whiplash. They stumbled and skidded on the grass until Vincent's back slammed into a tree, causing the top half of it to fall behind them.

"W-what just happened?" Catherine asked but Vincent was still transformed. He shakily pointed towards the building and Catherine's eyes widened as she saw the flames engulf a large chunk of the Greenbrier main building.

"I tried to warn you." Vincent suddenly said, back to his normal self.

Evan and Andrew _**(A/N: I didn't know Wolansky's name. I decided to give him one so I didn't continue saying just Wolansky)**_ ran towards them.

"Dude! That was one wicked move you just pulled there!" Andrew exclaimed. "How did you manage to jump that far before being hit by the blast?"

"Luck." Vincent lied as he stood up.

"Andrew, go and check up with Tess and Sam." Evan stated.

"Right! On it!" Andrew said as he made his way towards the building to find Tess and Detective Philmore.

"I called 911. They're sending a fire department as we speak." Evan stated.

"Thomas Gilmore won't like that." Catherine said. "He doesn't want his rep to go under the water."

"Cat, I highly doubt he can cover up an explosion like that! I'm sure I'm not the ONLY one to have called 911."

"Still, it's kind of hard to hide a crime scene when you just leave the bodies to rot in the room like that. Something tells me Thomas Gilmore was the one responsible for the explosion." Catherine stated.

"Not him again. Cat, you need to start thinking clearly. I think you might have had a concussion."

"I'm fine, Evan. Just think about it! He didn't want to call the local poli—"

"Cat! I highly doubt it was Thomas Gilmore. Besides, the person responsible was a professional. Thomas Gilmore doesn't exactly qualify as a professional when it comes to slicing up human bodies. He's a Resort CEO. Not a butcher." Evan said before he looked at Vincent. "Anyways, I was right."

"What?" Vincent gave him a stern look.

"You were the one who saved Cat the night of her accident. Don't deny it Vincent. I saw you, just now, jump out of that window with incredible strength. To create such a projectile, you'd have to have the strength of at least five men. I also noticed that the door of Heather's car was completely ripped off of its hinges that night. Something the wreck couldn't have done. Your stature when you jumped out of the window, holding Cat, was much like the build of the one who saved Cat on that night."

"Evan, you're making things up." Catherine said, trying to help conceal Vincent's identity.

"No I'm not! I know what I saw, Cat! Don't try to protect this man! He's responsible for many deaths across New York City!" Evan shouted as he pointed at Vincent.

"Evan! Do you think I'd actually protect someone who went against the law?"

Vincent knew Catherine was lying in order to protect him.

"You would if you were in love with him! I see the way you to look at each other and the way you to hold hands and kiss when almost no one is looking! It's truly disgusting!"

"Evan, you're in shock. You're thinking about the attack at the Manhattan Mainline aren't you?"

"Don't give me that crap, Cat! I know what I heard in the mainline and it certainly wasn't human! And to think that you've known about it all this time! That's just maddening that you'd hold out on me like that! You…You knew who or what that thing was and you just pretended like I was another crazy PTSD patient!" Evan yelled as he tried to wrap his mind around everything he was processing.

Catherine was about to say something but Vincent pressed his finger to her lips. "I'll handle this." He whispered before kissing her forehead. "Evan, you're right. I was the one who saved Catherine the night of her wreck. I was also the man who killed the psycho who tried to kill you in the abandoned subway tunnel."

Evan looked at Vincent. "So now you're admitting it?!"

"Evan!" Catherine shouted as she stood up. Suddenly she felt a sting of pain. She didn't realize her back was slightly burned and cut up from the explosion. She hissed in discomfort but continued her statement, "There are reasons I lied to you. I was protecting Vincent."

"You were protecting a monster, Cat! A monster!"

"No! He's not a monster! He's saved me hundreds of times as well as other people! Remember Ashley Webster!? He was the one who gave her CPR! Unfortunately, she was poisoned and he couldn't do anything about it."

"You're only just saying that because he's hypnotized you with his bad boy charm! He's probably already seduced you into having sex with him! That's sick!"

The moment those words came out of his mouth, Catherine quickly walked over to him and slapped him hard on the face. "HOW DARE YOU?! YOU DON'T KNOW A SINGLE THING ABOUT VINCENT! HE'D NEVER STOOP AS LOW AS YOU!"

With that, she stormed off and Vincent followed her without another word. Like Catherine, he couldn't believe the words that slipped from Evan's mouth. The second Catherine smacked him in the face; Vincent felt a smirk forming on his lips. He's been waiting for someone to do that to NYPD coroner for months—ever since he first kissed Catherine at her birthday party.

As Evan watched Vincent follow Catherine, he couldn't help but wonder if he was wrong about Vincent. He was definitely going to do some digging when he got home. For now, he had to focus on the crime scene. The sooner they figure out who killed the victims as well as wipe away any evidence including the bodies from the explosion, the sooner he can go home and return to his research project. Now that he knows the source of his research, he's going to do whatever he can to bring it to the light—no matter the costs.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~  
**

**Keiko Fujiwara: **

**What did you think? I do not really like Evan right now! I'm soooo glad Cat slapped him! He so deserved that! **

**Let me know if anything seems confusing or inaccurate or whatever! **

**:)**


	6. Somewhat Making Ammends

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

* * *

**Chapter Six: **

**Somewhat Making Amends**

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~  
**

As Catherine ran back to the Greenbrier main building, she stopped and looked at the explosion's damage. Everything…Everything was destroyed—the bodies and any evidence that could potentially lead to the killer. She decided to make it her sole purpose to catch this guy. As she gazed at the flames, she felt Vincent's arms snake around her waist before kissing the top of her head.

"What're we going to do?" she asked. "Evan knows about you now."

"We'll take it one day at a time. Okay?"

"Vincent, it's my fault that he even found out about you. If…If I never asked you to help me find him in the abandoned subway tunnels, he would still be in the dark about you." Catherine stated as she continued to look at the suite's fire.

"Catherine, don't you dare blame yourself for this. If I didn't help you, he would most likely have been killed by that frat guy." Vincent replied before planting another kiss on the top of her head.

"Yeah but I should have pulled the tranquilizer when I had the chance. Then, he wouldn't have overheard Peter being ripped to shreds." She said as she turned around to look at him. "It seems as if I continue to involve you in situations that reveal more and more of your identity. First it was when Muirfield captured me months ago and then it was the incident in the abandoned subway tunnels. Now, I sort of hinted that I wanted you to be here at Greenbrier with me and because I was selfish, Evan has figured out who you are. If I know him, he won't stop with his research project. He didn't when I asked him to so there is NO way he'll stop now. He'll do all he can to bring it to the surface, Vincent. That could endanger you!" Catherine did not once rip away her eyes from his. She wanted to know that everything was going to be okay. That there was hope in the middle of this overwhelming darkness.

"Catherine," Vincent said, taking her hands in his and leading her to a white bench away from the explosion scene. They sat down, creating a ninety-degree angle with their knees pressing against each other. He kissed her knuckles and finally said what he was going to say, "I don't want you to blame yourself f—"

"But it is m—!" she exclaimed but he pressed a finger to her lips to silence her from going any further.

"Let me speak." He said gently. "I don't want you to blame yourself for what I choose or choose not to do with my life. Remember the ballet roof when you promised you wouldn't involve yourself in my life any more than you already have?" She nodded and he continued, "Remember what I said?"

"You said that you keep coming back too even when you told me to stay away."

Once again he nodded and smiled, "Coming back was my decision, Catherine. Not yours. I could have ended everything that night and our lives, as of now, would be very different. You came to me a few days later out of concern for a little Bosnian illegal immigrant. Because of your forwardness to ask me to help her, she received the care she needed and recovered. The only reason Muirfield captured you was because of me, Catherine. If anything, it was because I couldn't stay away from you—I had to see you and I know you couldn't bear not seeing me either.

"I'm grateful you didn't say anything to Silverfox and his goonies but it wasn't your fault they found out about me. It was mine for wanting to spend almost every waking moment with you. I'm not saying that spending time with you was a bad thing because it wasn't, Catherine. Could we have been more careful? Maybe but I don't regret any of my choices I made when involving you into my life." He cupped her face in his palms as he wiped away a few fallen tears from her eyes. "I also chose to help you find Evan even though I knew what could happen. Do I regret killing Peter? No because he was a psycho. He deserved it. But like I've said before, it doesn't make taking a life any easier. It was my fault for following you into the Subway tunnels. I should have put my foot down and said no because of my blackouts but I would have regretted it if something had happened to Evan even if I don't really like him right now. Same thing with choosing to come here. If I wasn't here, you could have easily died in that explosion. Evan figured out my…condition…because of my choices, Catherine."

"But if I didn't go snooping around the warehouse the day we officially met, none of this would have happened." Catherine stated, trying to find any excuse she could to blame herself.

"We don't know WHAT could have happened, Catherine. I can't believe I'm the one saying this but everything happens for a reason. Sure, Muirfield has a huge Beast detector up my ass but I believe I survived Afghanistan because I had a bigger purpose as this…this thing. If I had died, you would have been killed by the gunmen who killed your mother. As we both know, that's not what happened. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told JT when I first showed up at his door." Vincent said as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face. He leaned close to her face with his lips no more than an inch in front of her mouth. Before he could tell her his words of wisdom, she impulsively closed the gap between them as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He pressed his arms against her back but he immediately drew back when she hissed in pain. He gave her a look of worry but she shook it off. "Don't worry…I think it's just slightly burned from the explosion."

"May I?"

She nodded, giving him permission to examine her back. He stood up and walked behind her.

"Lean forward." He said and she complied. He slowly lifted up the back of her shirt and noticed several small cuts and a few blisters forming on her back. "It looks like you've suffered from a first degree burn along with cuts from shards of glass." He said as he looked more closely at the cuts welded into her back. "Luckily you don't have any shards embedded into your back. I think a good cleanse with an antiseptic will do the trick for the cuts. It also might be wise to cover your burns so they don't get irritated from your shirt."

"Would you happen to have any of that?" she asked as he carefully unraveled her shirt and straightened it out.

He smirked and said, "A good doctor never leaves without basic medicine."

"By the way, Vincent, what were you going to say before I kind of hijacked your lips a few minutes ago?" Catherine asked as she joined him in standing.

"Oh…I was going to say…Take one day at a time." He replied, gesturing to take her back to his suite. She entwined her fingers with his and they began walking towards the deluxe rooms. Halfway to their destination, they heard Tess calling them from a distance.

"Where the hell have you been, Cat?! Wolansky told me you and Vincent were galloping through the air as the explosion happened! I tried calling your cell but you never answered!"

"Did Andrew not tell you we were fine?" Catherine asked as her coworker caught her breath.

"I didn't stick around to find out. I just bolted towards the damage as I tried calling you." Tess replied. "Which, by the way, why didn't you answer?!"

Catherine pulled her phone out of her pocket and noticed it was off. "It must have died sometime between the last time you called me and when the explosion occurred."

"Well you better put that thing on charge. Vincent, since Cat is probably going to be spending time with you if she's not with me, give me your cell number." Tess demanded.

"Oh…um…Vinc—" Catherine started to make up some excuse to explain why he couldn't give out his phone number but Vincent caught her off and said, "Let me see your phone."

Tess handed her phone to him and he quickly added his burner's number. Catherine looked at him with confusion when he gave Tess her phone back. "I'm going to take Catherine back to my suite to treat her back. It's not in a great condition for her to be working without getting proper care first."

"How long do you think that will take?" Tess asked.

"Twenty minutes." Vincent replied instantly.

"Alright. Have her ready in twenty. Cat, when you're good as new, meet me in the front of the main Greenbrier building. I have Eliza Summers's address. It's not too far from here."

"Okay. Are you going dressed as a maid?" Catherine asked, raising her brow as she noted Tess's apparel.

"Hell no. While the doc is fixing you up, I'm going to the maid quarters and change the hell out of this Little Bo Peep get-up." Tess replied.

As Catherine and Vincent waved goodbye before going towards the deluxe suites, Tess left for the other direction to change out of her maid costume.

"Vincent, just curious, why did you give Tess your cellphone number?" Catherine asked with curiosity as they walked towards the suites.

"I saw no harm in it considering that number expires in five days anyways." He smirked.

"Oh." She replied as she wrapped her arms around his right arm and snuggled the side of her face against him. "Speaking of which, when was the last time you spoke to JT?"

"Ummmmm….like forever ago…I should probably call him and make sure he isn't dead." Vincent said as he pulled out his phone to dial up his roommate.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

"Vincent," Catherine said as she laid on his bed with her stomach facing downwards, her shirt off and bra unhooked in order from him to clean her cuts. "Something just occurred to me."

"What?"

"Well," she suddenly winced as she felt the antiseptic burning as it cleaned her cuts but then continued, "Someone had to have access to the suite while no one was in there. Correct?"

"Yeah."

"So it had to be sometime after we left the suite last night and before Sam and Andrew showed up because they were the first detectives in the room this morning. So I'm guessing it had to be someone who KNEW when we were and weren't going to be in the suite." Catherine stated as she turned slightly to see his response.

"That is a good theory but who do you think it is?" Vincent asked, motioning her to lie back down. As he rubbed her burns with Bacitracin ointment, she answered his question.

"Well, like I said, it had to be someone who knew the exact times we weren't going to be in the suite. Vincent, there was only one person who told us precise times to leave the suite as well as when we could return to the suite. This person also has knowledge about Greenbrier so he would know where the gas lines are as well as the time the fireplace kicks on with the timer."

"Who?" Vincent asked, still not clear on her theory.

"Thomas Gilmore. I know Tess and Evan think I'm nuts for suspecting him but think about it. He fits every description. He has access to the suites. He knows how the mechanisms in the suites work. He knew when we would or wouldn't be in the suite as specific times. He has access to Joe and Joe has been feeding him everything we've figured out. He'd be the perfect murderer. He can follow up on everything by merely being the CEO."

Vincent finished applying the ointment to her back and started bandaging her burns as he listened to her theory. "Then why would he call the NYPD for help? I mean, I understand his predicament with reputation and all but the local police could have easily worked undercover just as well as you guys. Why the NYPD?"

Catherine was silent for a moment. That was a good question. Suddenly, a thought hit her. "Location."

"I don't follow."

"He didn't want the local police to investigate because it would be easier access to lab equipment to test the crime scene. The amount of tools Evan brought was limited. Since Thomas didn't want to ruin his precious reputation, he wouldn't allow Evan to remove the bodies to a better suited testing environment. Tess must have told Joe about Eliza Summers…so Joe must have mentioned something to Thomas about our progress with the case. Because Thomas knew we had a list of suspects, a possible witness and a crumpled up threat note, he knew it was only a matter of time before the evidence leads to him. So what better way to destroy as much evidence as possible as an explosion? I bet…I bet you he wasn't anticipating all of us surviving the blast."

"You're theories are great but what about his reputation? Why would he blow up a suite that could easily destroy Greenbrier's reputation?" Vincent asked as he rehooked her bra. She sat up and thought carefully.

"I haven't figured out that part yet but honestly, after all that's happened, can you really dismiss the idea that Thomas Gilmore is involved?" she asked as she slipped off the bed to put her shirt back on. Vincent walked over to her and took her hands in his. "You pose good theories, Catherine. And I believe you're on to something. But without evidence, it'll be hard to peg him as the prime suspect. But, I also believe that you can overcome any challenge. Just do me a favor."

"What?"

"Don't let this murder get to your head. If I know you, you'll follow a lead with or without your partner, Tess. Don't approach any leads without backup. Okay?" Vincent asked before quickly kissing her.

"We should get going." She suddenly said.

"Catherine…" he said with a warning tone. "Will you promise?"

She turned back around and smiled, "I guess lying doesn't really help me in this situation, does it?" Before he could answer, she walked out of his suite and headed for her own. She still hasn't moved any of her things yet so her gun and badge are still in the room.

"Catherine. You didn't promise." Vincent stated as he followed her.

She didn't answer. She just swiped her key and entered her suite. He trailed behind her as she walked over to her things and grabbed her gun and badge.

"Someone's been here." Vincent muttered darkly as he sniffed the air.

"Who?" Catherine asked as his eyes started shifting colors.

Vincent walked around in her room as he tried to distinguish the different scents. He could smell a heavy concentration of Evan and a small amount of Catherine since she's mostly been with him since this assignment started. Suddenly, he got a whiff of the perpetrator's scent again but then paused. Another smell infiltrated his nose. Without a word, he ran to the bathroom. Catherine ran after him and stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh my…" she muttered as she saw a body of a woman limp inside the bathtub with a message written above her in blood.

**STOP PURSUING THIS MRS. DAVIES IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU.**

"Vincent…I need to borrow your phone." Catherine said but Vincent didn't budge. She walked in front of him and saw he was fighting to stay in control. She instantly cupped his face and impulsively brought her lips to his in order to calm him down.

A moment later, his appearance shifted to normal and his tense muscles loosened. "Sorry…I didn't mean to change…I was just furious with whoever did this."

"That's why I need your phone, Vincent. I need to call Tess and the call Joe."

He nodded, handing his phone to her. "Here."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Now, let's get out of here…it's sickening."

Vincent nodded and led her out of the bathroom, closing the door. He sat down on the couch Catherine had used as a bed the night prior and listened as Catherine spoke with Tess.

"Vargas."

"Tess. It's me. Cat."

"Why do you sound nervous?" Tess asked. "You're making me feel nervous."

"You, Evan, Andrew and Sam need to get yourselves to the room Evan and I were sharing…There's been another homicide…making this a sextuple homicide."

"What?!"

"Yeah…I had to use get my gun and badge when I had a sudden urge to use the restroom and I found her body."

"Are you with Vincent?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right over." Tess said and ended the conversation. Catherine walked over and took a seat next to Vincent before leaning into him.

"Aren't you going to call Joe?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Not yet. I want Evan to assess the situation first. Maybe he might be able to get a fingerprint. We then can lift it and send it via picture mail and CSU might be able to ID the perp. I'm betting on it being Gilmore. Since we've been here, I haven't told anyone else my fake name aside from Thomas. Once I talk to Joe, I know he'll call the local precinct because there are too many bodies dropping to continue a private investigation." Catherine replied as she heard the door open. Evan, Tess and Sam appeared. Evan and Sam took no time at all and entered the bathroom as Tess ran over to Vincent and Catherine.

"Are you okay? Nothing happened while you were here, did it?" Tess asked.

"No. Nothing happened. Though, something concerns me." Catherine stated as she sat up.

"What?"

"If someone was able to enter this room at any time of the day, who is to say that person won't try it again at night and kill one of us next. If he or she has access to this room, the killer will most likely have access to all of our rooms." She replied in a concerned voice.

"The killer won't chance being caught, Cat. I doubt he or she will try to kill one of us in our sleep. If we wake up, the killer risks his or her identity." Tess stated as Evan and Sam came out of the bathroom.

"Jane Doe is Eliza Summers. She's been dead for a day at the least." Evan stated. "Postmortem contusions along her body suggest that she was killed elsewhere and dragged here sometime while we were working on the murder scene."

"What did she die from?" Tess asked.

"Unfortunately, without my lab, I can't give accurate information. Her wrists were sliced off postmortem due to the separation of her blood and water contents in the tub. I can't perform a tox screen so I won't be able to tell you if she was poisoned."

"I can help with that." Vincent suddenly said, standing up and walking to the bathroom without a single word. Evan followed him but Sam and Tess stayed with Catherine.

"How do you think he'll be able to figure out whether or not the vic was poisoned." Tess asked.

"He's a doctor. He probably can look for symptoms or something." Catherine lied, knowing exactly how Vincent would be able to tell if the vic was poisoned or not.

While the three cops were discussing the case, Evan observed Vincent's every move. Vincent squatted next to the tub and just as he was about to sniff the woman, Evan said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you a tox screening."

"By doing what? Are you going to bite off one of her phalanges?" Evan asked in disgust as Vincent turned to look at him.

"Do I look like a cannibal to you?"

"Could have fooled me." Evan stated as he took a step closer to Vincent.

"Look, man, I don't like helping you as much as you don't like standing in my presence right now." Vincent stood up and faced Evan directly. "The only reason I considered helping you is because of Catherine. If we don't catch this killer, she'll be next as you can see in the threat. Catherine has theories of who she thinks the killer is—very good theories I might add—and the faster we get this guy, the faster he can go behind bars before he gets to her! Whatever your problem is, get rid of it for Catherine's sake. I know you still care for her…a great deal different than I do…but you still care for her safety. So if you want to focus on that, it'll make both our lives easier."

"You're right. I do care for her safety. Which is exactly WHY I don't want her seeing a monster like you anymore." Evan stated with courage.

"You don't get to make that choice, Evan. Catherine chooses who she wants to be with. Not you. Not me. Believe me, I've tried to stop her from seeing me in the beginning but no matter how much I tried to tell her to stay away, she still came and that was HER choice. Now, do you want a tox screening or not?" Vincent asked as he pointed towards the victim. Evan sighed. He knew there was no way to test for toxins without his lab equipment so, just this once, he would resort to Vincent's special abilities.

Vincent bent back down and planted his nose close to the victim's body. After a few sniffs, he came back up and said, "Looks like your theory was correct. She was killed by poison."

"Can your magical nose tell me which toxin?"

"I'm not that talented but…it smelled a lot like Hydrogen Cyanide…and a high concentration at that." Vincent replied.

Evan nodded but just stood there as he tried to form a question inside his mind.

"What?" Vincent asked, knowing Evan was about to ask him a more personal question concerning his abilities.

"So…how long as Cat known about your…condition?"

"She knew the first day we officially met." He answered, not really wanting to start a game of 20 Questions.

"So you decided to tell Cat from the beginning but you can't tell anyone else? How does that work?" Evan asked, trying to make small talk.

"It wasn't planned like that. I had no intention of telling her what I was. I saved her from an attack in the Subway stations and she tried to follow me afterwards. She didn't see that a subway was on its way down the tracks so she continued to track me down but I ended up saving her again. That's when she figured it all out and asked me to spill the beans. Look, I don't know what you're trying to do, Evan, but now is not the time for chit-chat. There's a murderer out there and Catherine is a target. Look, I know you and I have started off on the wrong foot but it looks like I'm the best thing you have to a bloodhound so why don't we just put our differences aside for Catherine's sake. Deal?" Vincent asked as he put his hand out for a shake.

Evan looked at him skeptically. "What's in it for you?"

"Nothing. I'm just trying to make amends. It won't be too good if you guys let yourselves be separated due to personal quarrels. The killer will use that to his advantage. So, for now, let bygones be bygones?"

Evan pushed back his hair, knowing he didn't have much of a choice but to work with Vincent. "Fine. But one condition."

"What?" Vincent asked.

"After this case is over and done with, I want to know more about your condition. I want to study it."

"I'm not a lab rat to be probed and poked at."

"I know…I just want to study your blood….Maybe shed some light onto reasons why it is changing. I assume Cat has already told you that your DNA is mutating. Has she not?"

"Go on." Vincent demanded, wanting to hear what the coroner had to say.

"Well, if you let me study your DNA, I may be able to figure out if there's any way to stop the change." Evan said with a small smile.

"Why are you offering this?"

"Because, I care for Cat and I can see no one is going to be able to pry her away from you but I can also tell you're worried about her safety. I saw it in your eyes when you saved her from the car wreck. You were very gentle when holding her—as if she was a fragile human being. Let me study your DNA and we can put this whole disaster behind us. Do we have a deal?"

"Depends…are you going to be using the information gathered for your research project?" Vincent asked, skeptical.

"It all depends on what I find." Evan replied.

"How about I have a better offer. I will tell you what happened to me and everything I know about my condition. After hearing it, you give me a straight answer if you plan on using my DNA as a part of your research. If you plan on doing so, you can forget about the whole thing. All I ask is for you to hear me out first and foremost before making a rash decision."

Evan thought about Vincent's offer and realized it was the best bet he was going to get. "Fine. You've got yourself a deal. Let's shake on it."

Both medical experts shook each other's hand before exiting the bathroom. The only reason Vincent agreed to such terms was because he thought it would be the only way to keep Evan quiet about his identity. He still wasn't convinced that Evan was being completely honest about what he wants to do with his DNA but he would worry about that later. He wanted to focus on catching the murderer. He couldn't stand how anyone could just kill people like that without having a conscious about it later.

He walked over to Catherine as Tess, Sam and Andrew (who showed up while Evan and Vincent were in the bathroom) met up with Evan. "What happened while I was away?" Vincent asked Catherine as he sat next to her on the couch.

"Tess called Joe and explained what has happened. I begged her to tell Joe NOT to tell Thomas Gilmore anything and he finally agreed after Tess told him everything. He's calling the local police department because, now that six victims are dead, he wants West Virginia PD involved. We can't just work on this case anymore without proper equipment. I'm on my way to tell Thomas myself what's happening."

"I thought you didn't want him to know." Vincent said before kissing her temple.

"Oh. I want him to know alright. I just want to be the one to see his face whiten when I tell him what will be happening." She smirked. "Wanna come with me?"

"Yeah." Vincent replied as they stood up and walked towards the door.

"Where're you two going?" Tess asked, raising her eyebrow.

"To grab some air." Catherine lied, not wanting her fellow coworkers to know what she's up to. When they were halfway down the hallway, she said, "You and Evan were in the bathroom for quite some time. What happened in there?"

"We had a talk. I helped straighten his priorities." Vincent replied as he squeezed his fingers with hers.

"I'm surprised you two survived five minutes in the same room together." Catherine stated as they started walking down a flight of stairs. "Anything I should know about?"

"Yeah…I promised him I would explain everything when we get back to New York." He replied as Catherine gave him a glare. "Don't take this the wrong way, Catherine, I still don't like the guy but he wants to study my DNA. Like you told me the night of your father's wedding, JT doesn't have the right equipment. Evan does. If he, JT and I get together someday, we may be able to put our brains together and figure out why my DNA is mutating."

"But what about his research project?!"

"Don't worry. I told him that I would tell him everything. After that, I want him to give me a straight answer concerning his project. If he plans on publishing his project concerning my DNA, I wasn't going to let him study me." Vincent replied. "I want you to be with me when I tell him about my condition."

"You know I will, Vincent. I just worry about you. If someone gets ahold of that research, like Muirfield, they could find you and hurt you." Catherine whispered as the exited the deluxe suite building.

"I know, Catherine. But, if he can actually find some type of serum that can stop my DNA from mutating, it's a risk I'm willing to take. I don't want to end up hurting you, Catherine." Vincent said as they stopped walking.

Catherine turned and looked at Vincent before wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled herself up for a kiss and said, "Vincent, you won't hurt me. I trust you."

"But I don't trust me." He stated gravely. She brushed her lips across his once more before he froze.

"Vincent?"

"Catherine…you know how I smelled a foreign scent inside your suite before smelling the blood?" Vincent stated with a hardened expression.

"Yeah."

He lowered his volume and pressed his lips up against her ear so only she could hear what he was about to say. "Well, the scent I smelled is coming from that man about three hundred feet in front of us."

**Keiko Fujiwara: **

**Not sure what to say about this one…**

**Who do you think Vincent smelled?**

**One thing is for sure, I'm glad Vincent and Evan kind of made up for the sake of Catherine's wellbeing. We definitely DO NOT need jealous drama when there's a murderer on the loose. **

**What do you think will happen next? **

**Let me know what you think! :)**


	7. Best Decision Ever Made

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

* * *

**Chapter Seven: **

**The Best Decision Ever Made**

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~  
**

Catherine looked at the man she thought Vincent was talking about and muttered, "Black suit?"

"Yeah." Vincent replied as the man continued to talk with Greenbrier guests. "That's not all I smell right now."

"What do you mean?" Catherine asked, looking up at Vincent whose eyes were locked on target with the man in the black suit.

"I can smell a distant stench of blood mixing with his scent. He probably tried to wash it off but didn't clean off all of it. I also can smell a slight odor…I think it's gas." Vincent answered, looking at Catherine for a second.

"Vincent…that man is Thomas Gilmore—Greenbrier's CEO." Catherine stated gravely. "You said he smells of blood and gas?"

"Yeah."

"I think I've figured out why he wanted an explosion besides wiping away any evidence to peg against him." Catherine said as she stood on her tiptoes to whisper into Vincent's ear. "Like I mentioned earlier, Thomas was the ONLY person to know when we wouldn't be working in on the crime scene. He probably cut the crime scene suite's gas lines while EVERYONE was eating breakfast in the Main Dining Room. Do you ever recall seeing him around?" Vincent shook his head slightly, urging her to continue her theory. "I guessing, he decided on an explosion because, one, it'll destroy all of our evidence, two, there was a possibility of killing some of the NYPD investigators, three, it wouldn't really hurt his reputation because he could claim that the room was under construction like he's told the guests and something must accidentally caught on fire before the entire suite exploded. He also needed a distraction, Vincent."

"And that's why he has blood on his hands." Vincent added, "He wanted everyone to hear the explosion and check the damage while he drags Eliza Summers's body into your suite. I've confirmed Evan she was poisoned so she was already dead when he brought her to the bathroom. He then slits her wrists, lets her blood flow out of her body before sticking his fingers into it to write that threat on the bathroom wall."

"Exactly." She smiles, looking at him. "You know, Keller, we make quite the team."

Vincent smirked but his face fell when Thomas was making his way over to them. Catherine turned around and Vincent held on to her hand as tightly as possible without breaking her fingers.

"Why hello, Mrs. Davies. How is your stay at Greenbrier?" Thomas asked, ignoring the look Vincent was giving him.

"You can cut the crap, Thomas." Catherine stated boldly, taking a step towards Greenbrier's CEO.

"Pardon me?!"

"You heard me. We found another body earlier today—one of your staff members: Eliza Summers."

"That's terrible!" he exclaimed as sweat started to drop from his head.

"One of your employees confirmed one of my coworkers that Eliza Summers was the maid working the shift on crime scene's floor during the victims' times of death. She also mentioned that Eliza went missing shortly afterwards. Wanna tell me about that, Thomas?"

"Excuse me?"

"I want to know why you did not include Eliza's name on the list you gave me. There is no record of her quitting her job or resigning so why did you not include her name? Was it because you knew she was dead? That you killed her? Huh?!"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Davies, but you are stepping way out of line!" Thomas glared at Catherine.

"Just so you know, we found a total of seven bodies during our stay here, Thomas Gilmore. Because Greenbrier has a serial killer on the loose, we have to take precautions. Therefore, that's why I called the local precinct and told them what was going on. They'll be sending a team up here as soon as their able. Oh, and no. They won't be undercover. Like I said, Gilmore, I'm on to you and once I can tie the murders to you, you can kiss your reputation goodbye!" Catherine said with conviction as she returned the glare towards the CEO.

"This ends right now, Detective. You point your finger at me one more time and I'll make your life a living hell during your stay at Greenbrier." Thomas threatened, bending down to be at eyelevel with Catherine.

Catherine didn't even flinch. She simply smiled and added, "By the way, there was only ONE person at Greenbrier other than my coworkers who knew my undercover name was Mrs. Davies. Can you guess who?"

Thomas's left eye suddenly twitched before he straightened himself up. "Think what you want, Detective, but that won't stop me from my dinner tonight. From what I believe, your coworkers don't see eye to eye with you on this case. So, if you value your job, you better keep yourself inline tonight during dinner. I wouldn't want you to lose your job over something so trivial. Oh and bring the young man standing beside you. The more company, the better."

With that, Thomas left Catherine and Vincent standing in the middle of the walkway as he headed back towards his office.

"Catherine, that was a pretty gutsy move; especially if he's the killer. Because he knows you're on to him, he might try and get to you." Vincent said as they started walking back towards the deluxe rooms.

"I won't let my guard down. Besides, I've just proven he's our guy." Catherine said with pride. Vincent gave her a look of confusion and she concluded, "When we first met Thomas, Vincent, he pretended that there were only 2 bodies. He saw the bodies before anyone else so he should have told us Lilly Phillips was pregnant. Either that or he could have mentioned that there were three bodies, not two. Then, after assessing the crime scene, I went to talk to him to request for that list of suspects. While you and I were on our way down the stairs, Tess later confirmed to me that Thomas was on the phone with Joe. Joe told him there were five bodies before Tess told me Evan found two more.

"When I told Thomas that there were actually three bodies and not two, he didn't correct me or tell me that Joe talked to him. He just acted surprised."

"But that still doesn't prove he's the killer." Vincent said.

"I'm not done." She smiled. "If you noticed, I said that we found seven bodies."

"Yeah…I thought that was a little odd because didn't your team only find six?" Vincent replied while noticing a big smirk playing on Catherine's lips.

"We did. Remember when I told you that I asked Joe NOT to tell Thomas of our investigation's update?"

"Yeah…."

"Well, that just proved to be very helpful. You see, WE know Thomas should only think there were 5 bodies because that was the last update he received. He knows we found Eliza's body this morning so he should have corrected me and said something like, "Don't you mean six bodies?" But he didn't. He just allowed me to bitch at him. That proves that he knows more than he's telling us. Even if he's not the murderer, he just proved to me that he knows how many bodies are out there." Catherine replied as they finally entered Vincent's suite.

"But wouldn't that mean there's another body out there?" he asked with a worried expression. Catherine placed her badge and her gun on the table and replied, "Yeah."

"Who then?" Vincent asked.

"I don't know…" Catherine's face fell. "But we'll find out, okay?"

He nodded, looking at his watch. "It's close to 2 PM. Do you want something to eat?"

"I'm not really hungry…after seeing all of those dead bodies; I don't think I have the appetite to eat."

"Catherine, you need to eat. It's important for you to keep your strength up for an investigation as strenuous as this one is." Vincent said as he started rubbing her shoulders.

"I'm fine, Vincent. Besides, The West Virginia PD should be on their way over here if they aren't here already." Catherine replied before moving her neck around as Vincent's fingers gently massaged the crooks of her neck.

"Will you eat for me?" He asked, bringing his head close to her ear with his hot breath sending shivers down her spine. She slowly turned her head and pressed her lips against his. She pulled away from him and smirked.

"Okay…but on one condition."

"Name your price." He whispered before kissing her cheek.

Just as she was about to give him a reply, Vincent's phone rang. He pulled out his phone and said, "It's JT."

"Okay…well answer it. I'll be right back. I'm going to haul my things over here. Okay?"

"Take this!" he said, handing her one of his card keys.

"Thanks." She smiled before dashing out of the suite.

"What's up, JT?" Vincent asked.

"Woah. You sound annoyed. Did I just interrupt something?"

Vincent ignored his friend's question and said, "Did you just call to make sure I was alive?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, case closed. I'm alive." Suddenly, an idea popped into Vincent's head. "Hey, could you do me a favor?"

"Shoot, man." JT replied through the receiver.

"I need you to do some research and see if there are any relations between a man named Zachary Phillips and a man named Thomas Gilmore. If you find anything, call me. Okay?"

"Fine. I'll see what I can find. Later, dude." JT said before the line went dead. Vincent put his phone in his pocket and headed for Catherine's suite to see if she needed any help moving her things.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

As Vincent entered Catherine's soon to be ex-suite, he found Catherine, Evan and Tess arguing with each other.

"I'm telling you, it's Thomas Gilmore!" Catherine stated.

"And I'm telling you the killer is someone else!" Tess shouted as she placed her hands on her hips. "Why would he call Joe to send for NYPD's finest if he was the killer? That's a bit of a stretch don't you think?!"

"If you just listen to me, I can TELL you why!" Catherine tried to reason.

"Ladies! Please! Now, according to my calculations, our killer would have to have an incredible body build in order to make the abrasions on the victims' bodies. But SINCE they are all blown up to tiny bits and pieces, there's no way to figure out what the murder weapon is. Whatever weapon was used on Eliza Summers was not the same weapon used on the other bodies. I can tell you that much. Her cuts were….sort of sliced like a wedge-shape blade. But it's hard to say what sort of weapon could make such a cut." Evan said, cutting the two women off from their bickering.

"Tess. Evan. Just listen to me. I confronted Thomas today and—"

"You did what?! Cat! I thought we were done with this going behind my back and stuff!" Tess threw her hands up in the air.

"Don't worry, Tess. I wasn't alone. Vincent was with me."

"Cat. Vincent is not a cop! You're lucky Thomas didn't kick you out of Greenbrier for ambushing him like that!" Catherine pushed her hair back as Tess continued, "Look, Cat, sorry for yelling like that but you need to start going by the book. Okay? Why are you so convinced Thomas is our guy?"

"Because, when I confronted him about forty-five minutes ago, I told him we found seven bodies. The last update he ever got was five bodies. He didn't correct me so I have reason to believe there's another body out there." Catherine replied with a stern face.

"Cat, look, I wanna believe you but you don't have proof." Tess stated, rubbing her temples.

"Then explain to me why he didn't correct me when I said seven bodies?!"

"I don't know. Maybe, it's because he was so shocked by your accusations, he was trying to focus on not losing his cool." Tess replied and looked at Vincent. "Next time you and Cat decide to investigate on your own, I'm going to blame you for not stopping her."

With that, she stormed out of the room, muttering something like, "I need some air."

"Evan," Catherine said as she walked over to him. "Please tell me you believe me."

"Cat, like Tess said, there isn't any proof. Sure, your theories sound tempting but without hard evidence, I can't peg Thomas as our guy. He's a business man; not a butcher. Hopefully, once WVPD gets over here, we'll be able to figure out more about the sixth murder and see if we can tie it to Thomas but as of right now, I'm with Tess on this." Evan replied before going back into the bathroom as he left Catherine and Vincent standing there, alone.

Without another word, Catherine started throwing things back into her suitcase. She didn't really care what things her hands were grabbing. She was too furious and upset that her closest coworkers didn't believe her. She zipped up her bag and grabbed her carryon before walking past Vincent. Vincent looked back into the suite to make sure she didn't leave anything behind before walking into the bathroom to confront Evan.

"Can't you see I'm a bit busy?" Evan asked as he heard the door open.

"I just wanted you to know something." Vincent said. "You and Tess should give Catherine more credibility. Despite anything that's happened over the past few days, she really respects you and Tess for the work you two do."

"The last time I've checked, Cat sees me as a player."

"I'm not talking about your personal life, Evan. I'm talking more on a professional level. I don't know if she told you this but the day you were kidnapped by Peter; Catherine personally came to me and asked if I could help her find you. If not for her, Peter would not be dead. You most likely would be in his stead. She respects enough, as a friend, that she'd ask for my help since she knew I was the only one who could find you before Peter had the chance to kill you. Got that? I didn't happen to just be wondering in the tunnels for no apparent reason. I was down there because of her. I know you guys have to go by the book when investigating but if there's something I know about Catherine, it's her instinct. If you care about her, you'd start listening to what she has to say rather than going by the very little evidence you've collected. She deserves that much."

"Oh? Like how she made me think I was a raving lunatic for two months when she knew all along that I wasn't? Try that on for size! Trust is a two way street, Vincent." Evan said before looking back on the victim.

"She still trusts you, Evan. It wasn't a matter of who she could or couldn't trust. The only reason she even lied to you and the rest of the world was because I asked her to. She kept my secret quiet because of me. It had nothing to do with whether or not she could trust you. That's why she lied whenever you brought up my attacking Peter. She lied because I asked her too. Nothing more. Nothing less." Vincent started making his way out of the bathroom before turning around to say, "Oh. And for the record, in case you didn't hear, I was with Catherine when she confronted the CEO. He smelled of a combination of gasoline and Eliza's blood. If that doesn't count in your books then I don't know what will."

With that, Vincent left to find Catherine as Evan started contemplating on what Vincent said.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

As Vincent walked into his suite, he found Catherine thrashing pieces of a broken vase against the wall in front of her. He smelled blood oozing from her hands and he walked over to her, grabbed her hands before she could throw another shard and said, "That's enough!"

"Let me throw it!" she exclaimed with a broken heart.

"No!" his voice rumbled like thunder as she struggled against him. "Catherine, that's enough." His voice softened. He hated seeing her like this. He had no idea that the fact her colleagues wouldn't believe her would affect her like this. Shakily, she released the mini shards that were in her hands before she felt him kiss her on the forehead. He pulled her to the bathroom without a word and turned on the faucet before placing her bloodied hands underneath the water. She flinched as the water cleansed her open cuts.

Vincent gave her a towel to dry her hands before guiding her to his bed. He picked up his briefcase and opened it up. He took out the antiseptic and poured a little bit on a ball of cotton before cleaning the cuts on her hands.

While he gently cleaned and bandaged her hands, she suddenly said, "I thought it was my job to speculate suspects and to never dismiss theories until proven otherwise."

"Catherine, they'll come around. Hopefully the WVPD will be able to find evidence to peg against Greenbrier's CEO. It'll just take some time." Vincent stated before bringing her newly-bandaged hands to his lips.

"Vincent, we don't have time. There are already six bodies and one body possibly out there. Who knows what could happen after tonight. There may be another murder happening as we speak!" Catherine replied.

"Whatever happens, Catherine, promise me you won't go looking for trouble."

Catherine removed one of her hands from Vincent's gentle grip and caressed his cheek. "Vincent, you know I can't do that."

Vincent nodded, upset that she couldn't make a simple promise for him but glad because she didn't lie to him. He kissed her forehead as he heard her stomach rumble. "Are you still wanting lunch?"

She nodded and looked over to where the broken glass was.

"Don't worry about the mess, Catherine. We can just leave it. Okay?"

Catherine nodded once more before Vincent stood up and walked over to the phone for room service. Catherine slid off the bed, walked to her carryon and pulled out her phone charger, remembering she needed to charge her phone. She made her way to an outlet and plugged the charger in before connecting the cord to her phone. She decided she needed air so she opened the door to the suite's balcony and walked out on it.

Vincent placed the phone back on its base and noticed Catherine standing outside. He opened the door and surprised her by wrapping his arms around her from behind. "You know," he stated, "This is the closest we'll ever get to a fire escape while we're in West Virginia."

Oh what Catherine would do to be sitting on her fire escape again. She hated being so far away from home and this whole investigation drama isn't helping either. She leaned her head against his chest as she snaked her hands along his arms. "I'll be glad once this investigation is over. A lot has happened already and it hasn't even been a full day yet." She turned in Vincent's arms and gazed into his eyes. "You have no idea how happy I am to be here with you despite all that has happened."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Vincent smirked, knowing it was true. Even if he had to crawl to Greenbrier from New York City, he would.

She smiled as she brought her lips to his and wrapped her arms around his neck. Catherine didn't hesitate to wrap her legs around his waist as their lips continued fusing together. Vincent gripped her buttocks to support her weight (among other reasons) and carried her back inside towards the bed. Before he trapped her against the bed, she lifted off her shirt and threw it on the floor as she welded her lips back to his. While keeping her pelvis latched to his waist, she slipped her hands underneath his shirt before pulling over his shoulders.

"Catherine…" he muttered between her kisses. "We…need…to…stop…"

She held him closer to her before replying, "Give me…one damn….good reason."

Vincent moved his lips to her neck and lightly sucked on her skin. Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door and someone shouting, "ROOM SERVICE!" Vincent removed himself from Catherine and chuckled.

"Oh…that's why…" Catherine blushed as she pulled the covers over herself. Vincent slipped on his shirt and walked towards the door before opening it. Catherine pretended to be asleep as a man rolled a metal trolley into their room. He removed the dishes and placed them on the table. "Have a nice afternoon, Sir." The man said before trolleying out of the room.

"Still up for food?" Vincent laughed before taking a bite out of a roll.

Catherine slipped out of the bed and made her way to Vincent. She took the roll that was already in his hands and bit a huge chunk out of it.

"Hey! That was mine!" he smirked.

"Oh? I didn't see your name on it." Catherine said as she picked up the basket and walked about five feet away from the former doctor. "If you want another one, you're going to have to work for it."

"Who knew you could be this dirty, Catherine Chandler." Vincent sneered as he walked up to her. Before she could say anything, he deliberately kissed her passionately. As her attention was more focused on their lips, he opened one eye and quickly grabbed two rolls and held them behind his back as he departed from her. "So…how am I doing?"

"You're halfway there." She smirked. Suddenly she noticed he had one of his hands behind his back.

"Vincent Keller, you did NOT just kiss me so you could steal a roll or two, did you?!" her eyes widened.

"Well…you DID say I had to work for them. I'd say catching you off guard is talent all on its own." He smirked before taking a bite out of one of the rolls he stole.

"You're such a dirty player." She chuckled as she tapped him on the shoulder.

"You were the one who came up with this kinky idea in the first place." Vincent said as he finished the first roll and started on the second.

She placed her hands on her hips as she watched him proudly eat his roll. She then looked at the time: 2:45 PM. Since Tess and Evan both told her to 'lay' off of the Thomas Gilmore theory, she really didn't have anything to do for the next two or so hours so a smirk played on her lips.

Vincent took the basket out of her hands and placed it on the table. He could hear her heart beating as fast as his own. In a way, it was like he could read her mind because the look she was currently giving him had nothing to do with rolls anymore. He knew she wasn't hungry for food anymore. No. She was hungry for other reasons. She watched him remove his shirt before he brought his hungry lips to the base of her neck. As his lips brushed against her skin, he didn't realize she had unbuckled her jeans and shrugged them off until he felt her bare legs embrace his torso. He brought her over to the bed, hastily placed her down and yanked off his own jeans before aligning his body with hers.

Vincent suddenly pulled back with concern.

"Vincent?"

He stayed silent, unsure of how to get the words out.

"Vincent, you can tell me anything. You know that right?" Catherine whispered as she stroked his face.

"Catherine…it's been a long while since I've done anything like this…"

"It's been quite a while for me too." She smirked and added, "If you're worried about what might happen, don't be. I trust you, Vincent. You should start trusting yourself."

"What if…What if I hurt you?"

"You won't."

"You don't know that, Catherine." He said as he looked away. She cupped his face and caused him to look back to her as she smiled.

"Vincent, you're always telling me to take things a day at a time. I'm telling you, now, to take every moment at a time. Okay?"

He nodded slowly as she kissed his cheek before she brought her lips to his ear, whispering, "I love you, Vincent Keller."

Suddenly a look of astonishment replaced his look of concern as he leaned slightly backwards. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled his lips back to hers; convincing him just how much she loves him. The reality of her confession came back to him and he lightly pulled away from her, saying, "I love you too, Catherine. I've always loved you."

Somehow she managed to flip him over and trapped him against the bed.

"Neat trick." He smirked.

"Just one of my many talents." She whispered into his ear before kissing him. Vincent found her bra hooks and unlatched them, one by one, before slowly sliding the material off of her body.

From that point, there was no stopping the Beauty or the Beast from making the best decision of their lives—love.

* * *

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

**Keiko Fujiwara: **

**I know this chapter was slightly shorter than previous ones but what do you think? **

**I'm not very great in writing romance scenes (in depth if you know what I mean) so I decided to stop it here to spare you from mental scarring. **

**If you want a 'romance' scene, use your imaginations. ^_^; **

**Please let me know what you thought about this chapter! **

**I really appreciate reviews! **

**Thanks! X3**


	8. Awkward

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: **

**Awkward**

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

* * *

As Catherine breathed in Vincent's scent, she felt him tighten his grip around her, ensuring her he DID NOT want her leaving anytime soon. She placed a small kiss on his chest before leaning over him to look at the clock. Much to her disappointment, it was close to 5 PM and she really had no interest in joining her coworkers for dinner much less the Gilmores.

"Catherine, is there any way to get out of the dinner?" Vincent asked as if he could read her mind. Catherine looked up to his concerned eyes and shook her head.

"I wish I could tell you there was but…unless I'm willing to lose my job, I have to go. Don't forget, you were invited too." She whispered as a small smile formed on her lips.

"I just have a bad feeling about it, that's all. If Thomas is our guy, which I have no doubt that he is, he has Hydrogen Cyanide in his possession—a deadly poison. He could suddenly leave the room and lock all of us in before ambushing us with it." Vincent replied as he started rubbing tiny circles along the small of her back.

"Vincent, Thomas may be manipulative and devious, but, if anything, he's ignorant. What he doesn't realize is that, earlier today, he invited you—a man capable of easily breaking down doors if need be." She smirked. "Besides, you and I team up pretty well."

"Still, the thought of what he's capable of…."

"Vincent, Thomas is many things but he won't be dumb enough to release a poisonous toxin in a room that seats nearly 500 people."

"You'd be surprise of what the desperate could do." Vincent said, adding, "Do you want me to take a look at your hands?"

"Are the bandages waterproof?"

"Yeah." He laughed as Catherine started slipping off the bed. "Where're you going?"

"It's almost 5:05 PM, Vincent. Dinner is less than an hour and there's NO WAY I'm going to join everyone without showering first."

"I think you look fine as you are." He smirked, sliding off the bed to gently tackle her to the floor. As he leaned over her and tickled her sides, she squirmed and laughed from his soft, torturous touch.

"Vincent, stop!" she pleaded while his fingers glided to her lower abdomen—her tickle weakness.

"Say the magic words." He smirked. He loved teasing her, especially knowing that she was laughing too hard and too much to speak. To silence her delightful giggles and squeals, he pressed his lips against hers. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her into the bathroom. She couldn't argue with killing two birds with one stone, could she?

He pinned her against the wall next to the shower without removing his mouth from hers and he managed to summon enough concentration to turn on the shower before stepping into it. Catherine kept her hips tight against his as the water drummed on their naked bodies. He hummed when he felt her lightly buck against his hips but he knew that if they didn't stop now, they'd never finish their shower.

"Catherine…" he muttered as he slowly removed his lips from her. She instantly took his lips back in hers as he felt her moan into his mouth. He easily submitted to her want and they soon found themselves sitting on the shower's hard tile with their legs and arms wrapped around each other, making passionate love.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

"Where the hell is she?" Tess asked as she looked at her watch. It was thirty minutes until they had to meet Thomas and his wife for dinner and she DID NOT like being late. Plus, she wanted to see what Cat was going to be wearing.

"She's probably getting ready as we speak. Calm down, Tess. The dinner isn't until 6 PM. There's still time." Evan said as he straightened his tie. "You should just go back to your room and give her a call."

"I've called her five times in the past twenty minutes. Even Vincent isn't answering his phone."

"You have Vincent's number?" Evan asked as he gave Tess look of surprise.

"What? Cat's phone was dead so I wanted his number just in case I couldn't reach her."

"Look how well that's turned out." Evan stated. "Hmmmm…both Cat and Vincent not answering their phones? What on earth is going on in their suite? Wait…you don't think she'd be that irresponsible to…" Before Evan could finish his question, Tess darted down the hallway and jiggled the handle.

"Damn!" she cursed. Evan walked down to her and said, "You were a maid, right? Wouldn't that mean you'd have a master card for all of the rooms?"

"Evan! You're a genius!" Tess beamed. She dug her hand through her purse and pulled out the master card. "Voila! This should do the trick."

But before she inserted the card into the swipe, she paused.

"What's wrong, Tess?"

"I'm just preparing my mental status of what we might be walking in on." She stated. "I don't mean to sound like a perv but you should probably too. Who knows what we might stumble on in there?"

"I don't know if I have the mind capacity to be mentally scarred—especially concerning _those_ two." Evan replied as Tess inserted the card.

"Too late. Door is open, might as well use it to our advantage. Besides, if they aren't getting ready for the dinner, I'm going to literally divide and conquer by any means necessary." Tess said as she started walking into Vincent and Catherine's suite. "Also, it's my job to be a detective."

"Right you are." Evan agreed.

As Evan and Tess explored the suite, they came upon the bedroom. "It looks like a tornado happened here! Look at all of the…oh…Evan, I think it may be wise if I go in alone. We definitely do NOT need to provoke you or Vincent any further during this investigation."

Evan nodded, knowing Tess was right. The less he sees, the better his mood will be for the dinner. As he took a seat on the couch in the bedroom, he decided to wait for Tess rather than leave the suite altogether.

Tess ventured forward, hearing the shower water running. As she walked closer to the bathroom, she couldn't help but blush as she heard two voices of different pitches, moaning with pleasure. '_Oh dear,_' she thought. '_This will be awkward. That's for sure._'

Knowing she mustn't delay the inevitable, she slowly opened the door and gasped in shock as she saw two frosted bodies making love through the shower door. Somewhat pissed that her partner would allow herself to get carried away this close to dinner, she literally marched to the shower door and yanked it open, causing two pairs of eyes to look immediately at her.

"Tess!" Catherine exclaimed as blushes appeared on all three of their faces.

"Damn straight it's me. Do you have ANY IDEA what time it is?! You have TWENTY-FIVE minutes to get ready for dinner. I can't BELIEVE you'd be this irresponsible of all times!" Tess fumed.

Catherine suddenly felt ashamed as she allowed her arousal to cloud her judgment rather than taking the case more seriously. "I'm sorry, Tess."

"You better be! Like I said, you have now twenty-four minutes to get ready! Evan, Andrew, Sam and I will already be at the Main Dining Room. I'll tell Thomas and his wife you two will be ten minutes late so you better get your asses in gear and get ready for the dinner!" Tess demanded before spinning around to stomp out of the bathroom.

As she stormed off, Vincent and Catherine quickly finished their shower, they dried themselves off and walked out of the bathroom, not realizing Evan and Tess were still in their bedroom. Tess was waiting to make sure they obeyed her command and Evan was there simply because he thought it would be rude for Tess to walk to dinner alone.

All four of them froze in place. As Tess's eyes immediately started looking around (basically anywhere that wasn't directed at a naked Catherine and a naked Vincent), Evan couldn't tear is eyes off of Catherine's exposed body. Suddenly, Vincent became very aware of Evan's lustful gaze, he instantly pulled her behind him to block Evan's view. This of course caused Evan to lose interest and he stood up and gulped.

"Well, I think Tess and I will be off then. Isn't that right, Tess?" Evan said with nervousness. If Vincent didn't hate him before, he definitely did now.

"Yeah…I think that's a good idea." Tess replied awkwardly. Evan grabbed Tess's arm and literally dragged her as he bolted out of the suite. He knew what Vincent was capable of and he DEFINITELY DID NOT want to chance fate tonight.

"That was…totally awkward…" Evan said as they walked away from the deluxe room building.

"Yeah…I think it was more traumatizing to see them stark naked than to see them making hot sex in the shower." Tess replied. "I think I'm going to need a drink."

"Me too." Evan said. "I suggest we not speak of this to anyone. I'm sure as hell Vincent and Cat won't either."

"My lips are totally sealed." Tess stated. "Come on. Let's get there as fast as possible. I don't want to listen to Wolansky gloating about arriving to the Dining Room first."

Evan nodded his head and they picked up their speed.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Neither Catherine nor Vincent spoke a word when they dressed for the evening. They were still too in shock from what happened not even an hour before. Catherine wore same dress she wore at her father's wedding and Vincent wore the same tux as well (since that's basically the only dress suit he owns anyways).

As he helped her clip her necklace behind her neck, he finally managed to say something, "I'm sorry about earlier."

"Vincent, it wasn't your fault." Catherine replied while she released her hair after he finished clipping her necklace.

"If only I didn't 'start' anything when you said you were going to shower, we wouldn't have been ambushed by Tess and then seen by both Tess and Evan." He stated as he adjusted his tie. She slipped her feet into her shoes and placed her gun and badge into her purse before strapping it to her shoulder.

"It was both of our faults. Neither one of us slammed our foot on the breaks when we came to a stoplight." She said as she looked into his eyes.

He smirked, "Nice analogy."

She laughed and offered her hand after he finished putting on his left shoe. He entwined his fingers with hers while they left the suite.

"Dinner sure is going to be an awkward one. That's for sure." Catherine said and Vincent totally agreed.

Just as Tess predicted, Vincent and Catherine arrived to the Dining Room ten minutes late. As they walked to their seats, they felt as if they were walking on the Red Carpet of Shame while everyone stared at them.

"Ah. Glad for you to finally join us." Thomas stated. "How are you feeling, Mrs. Davies? I heard you weren't feeling well earlier."

"Oh…Um…I feel better now. Thank you." Catherine hastily replied as she took her seat between Evan and Vincent. "I was very grateful to have a very attentive doctor by my side." Catherine smiled as she leaned against Vincent's shoulder.

"Very attentive indeed." Evan coughed before Catherine threw mental daggers towards him.

"I believe we haven't officially met." Thomas smiled as he placed his hand out in front of Vincent. "I'm Thomas Gilmore—the CEO of Greenbrier. You are?"

Vincent took his hand to try and look appreciative and replied, "Vincent Zalanski."

"And you are a doctor?" Thomas asked.

"Yes. I practice in ER medicine."

"Where do you practice?"

"I'm a private doctor. I mostly attend to those who cannot make trips to the hospital. It allows me to get to know my patients more on a personal level." Vincent replied as his mind tried to rewind itself and remember what story he told Evan and Tess while on the plane.

"Well I'm glad you could join us. Have you been to Greenbrier before?"

"Yes. Once but it was a very long time ago. I was with my family then." Vincent replied.

"Oh? I don't remember a family by the name of Zalanski. Were you perhaps adopted?" Thomas asked as Vincent mentally cursed.

"Yes," Evan smirked. "Were you, Vincent?"

Catherine elbowed Evan in the gut as she thought of a really quick cover up story. "When Vincent says 'family,' he normally refers to the people close to him. I remember Vincent telling me a story that he came to Greenbrier with his roommate's family the Kellers. Unfortunately, the Kellers' youngest son couldn't come so they asked Vincent to take their son's place since they both shared the same first name anyway and the Kellers did NOT want to throw away a plane ticket."

Vincent looked at Catherine and mouthed a "Thank you" as Thomas replied, "Ah! The Kellers! Yes I do remember them!"

"Out of approximately ten thousand guests per year, you remember a family from years ago?" Evan asked in disbelief.

"As CEO, I make it my business to learn every family's name who has been here. I make it my business to remember. Do I necessarily remember faces? No, but I cannot forget meeting Michael Keller. I assume his family is the family you are talking about?"

Vincent and Catherine nodded.

"Splendid! It's a small world after all. How is his family?"

Vincent's expression tensed and he said, "I haven't heard or seen the Kellers for ten years. All I know is that Jason and Matthew Keller, Michael's two eldest sons, died on 9/11 as the Twin Towers were struck. Vincent, their youngest son—a roommate of mine—was killed in Afghanistan in 2002."

"Oh my…I'm sorry to hear that." Thomas said with almost no emotion whatsoever. While Catherine rubbed his right leg underneath the table to support him,

Suddenly, Catherine noticed something. Thomas's wife hasn't arrived yet.

"Thomas, is your wife ill?" Catherine asked without hesitation. She could have sworn she saw him tense his muscles for a second and he stated, "Why yes. She came down with a nasty bug earlier this morning and has not felt herself since."

"Oh. I hope she feels better." Catherine replied with a fake smile. "I'm sure Vincent wouldn't mind taking a look at her."

"No!" he immediately shouted. "I mean, no. My wife doesn't do well with strangers when it comes to her health. No offense but she'd rather see our family doctor in the morning."

Catherine deliberately dropped her napkin, saying "Whoops. Clumsy me. Vincent, could you help me find my napkin?"

"Uh…sure." Vincent replied before scooting his chair back to bend down underneath the table as Catherine did so.

"Could you tell if he was lying?" she whispered loud enough for his ears only.

So he wouldn't make a sound, he nodded and mouth lipped, 'There were lies all over his face.'

Catherine whispered, "That's what I thought. I think he did something to his wife." Vincent picked up her napkin and handed it to her. "Found it!"

They resumed to their original positions and finally food was brought to them.

'_I've got to find a way to snoop around his office or personal suite._' Catherine thought as she ate her food. '_I hate to think this but it may be best if I don't include Vincent in this small investigation. Since Tess and Evan think I'm lying and I don't want Vincent involved any more than he already is, I'm going to search for clues alone. I just have to figure out how to do so without anyone knowing._'

"I think all of you have done your work so diligently thus far, I want to treat every one of you to a free spa after dinner. The crime scene can wait until tomorrow. Besides, from what the young Detective to my right claims, the WVPD should be working on the case as we speak, allowing your duties to slacken for a while." Thomas stated before looking at his watch. "Look at the time! It's amazing time flies when you're having fun! I have a meeting in twenty minutes so you guys can all continue eating or you may follow Abigail to the spa treatment center."

Thomas stood up and bowed before leaving the group. "Did you think his abrupt departure was a little odd?" Vincent asked as he leaned towards Catherine's ear.

"Yeah…" '_But his meeting and the spa gives me the perfect chance to stray away from the group to do some of my own digging._' She thought. Tess stood up and said, "I'm going to the spa. You coming Cat?"

"Oh, Ummm, yeah. I just have to run to the ladies' restroom." She lied.

"Sounds good. You know where to go?" Tess asked.

"Yeah." Again, she lied. "If I'm late, assume I got lost." Catherine laughed to try to convince her partner she was fine on her own.

"Alright. Have your phone?"

Catherine nodded.

"Good. Answer it if I call you." Tess stated before getting in line to leave with Abigail.

"Say…" Andrew Wolansky started to say, "Is there by any chance the spa is unisexual?"

"Keep your mind out of the gutter, Wolansky! I swear, one of these days I'm going to glue your mouth shut!" Tess glared at her former partner as he walked towards her.

"Don't tease me." He smirked, receiving a smack to the head.

"I think I'll be heading off to bed." Sam Philmore stated. "Interrogating those workers zapped the energy out of me. By the way, none of the guests on the list perfectly matched the persona of our killer."

"Were there any close calls?" Evan asked as he stood up as well.

"Not even close. They all had alibies." Sam replied.

"How did you retrieve their alibies during a fake interrogation?" Andrew asked.

"Believe me, I have my ways." Sam smirked before leaving the group to call it a night.

Evan stretched his arms and said, "Spa or no spa. I'd rather get to the bottom of this. I'm going to go and see if the WVPD has showed up yet. If they have, I'm going to see if I can get some intel on their findings. Vincent, I would appreciate your medical expertise if you wouldn't mind assisting me rather than enjoying a free spa.

Vincent thought about it and realized that a spa, especially around a large crowd of people, probably wasn't the best thing. "Alright. Fine."

"Shall we go then?" Evan asked. One of the main reasons Evan wanted Vincent to come along was so that he could apologize for his rude behavior earlier in Vincent's suite. He was rather surprised Vincent even considered his request.

"See you later?" Catherine asked as the spa group left and Evan waited on Vincent.

"Yeah…be careful." He whispered. "Don't do anything rash." He had a feeling Catherine was going to use this spa thing as an excuse to do her own investigation so, just in case, he wanted to remind her not to think impulsively.

She smirked before kissing him. "Vincent, I'm only going to the restroom. I'll be fine."

"Regardless, like Tess said, keep your phone on you." Vincent gave her another kiss before Evan cleared his throat.

"Have fun." Catherine laughed as she watched Evan and Vincent walk away from her. She noticed that she was the only one left from the group. '_Great! Now to put the show on the road._'

* * *

**Uh oh…what do you think Catherine might be up to? **

**Also, what did you think of this chapter? Toooooo graphic? **

**Please, I want your input! XD**


	9. Damn!

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

**Chapter Nine: **

**Damn!**

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

* * *

Catherine first thought it would be a good idea to check Thomas's suite since he was away for his meeting so she went to the receptionist's desk and asked, "Hello. I'm sure you're very well aware of the explosion that happened to the back of this building earlier and I'm a part of the team investigating it. It is important I speak with the Mrs. Gilmore. Can you please point me in the direction of her suite?"

"Of course. The Gilmore Suite is on the top level, first door to your left from the elevator. While you're up there, can you give Mrs. Gilmore my regards? I hear she isn't feeling well." The receptionist replied.

"Absolutely. Thanks." Catherine smiled before going to the elevator. She looked around to make sure no one was watching her before entering the double doors. As the elevator slowly made its way to the top, she dug into her purse and found the master card she snatched out of Tess's purse while she was underneath the table.

She heard the elevator beep and when the doors opened; she took off her high heels and walked out, barefooted in case she had a reason to run. She first knocked on the Gilmore's door and said, "Mrs. Gilmore! I'm Catherine Chandler. NYPD. Open up!?"

There was no reply.

She instantly swiped the master card through the door's lock and it opened for her. She snuck inside, closing the door behind her, and tiptoed through the suite. She pulled her gun out of her purse and held it out in front of her as she slowly walked step by step. "Mrs. Gilmore?"

She found herself wandering around in the living room space and gasped. An entire display of medieval weapons was hanging on the wall. She carefully walked to an axe and stared at the shape of the weapon. '_This axe would have that wedge shape Evan was talking about earlier._'

She pulled out a Q-tip from her purse, swiped the blade's tip and placed it in a plastic bag. Earlier, while she was packing up her things, she purposely gathered Ziploc bags and Q-tips from Evan's M.E. materials in case she needed to use them. Turns out she was right.

She continued to look at each, individual weapon to see if she could find something that would match the weapon used on the Phillips family. '_Evan said the weapon was thin…like a Butcher's knife or something…Wait! That looks pretty slender and if the blade was sharp enough…it would do the trick!_' Catherine thought as her eyes caught a long, medieval machete blade.

Catherine grabbed another Q-tip and plastic bag and repeated the same process she did with the axe. '_Now that I've found the potential murder weapons, it might be a good idea to look for Mrs. Gilmore._'

"Mrs. Gilmore?!" she shouted again, hoping to get a reply.

Again, no response.

Catherine ventured into the master bedroom and first opened the closet. Nothing.

She then walked into the bathroom to look into the tub. Once again, nothing.

"Mrs. Gilmore! NYPD! If you are here, please respond!" Catherine said loudly.

Suddenly, a silhouette underneath the bed caught her attention. She ran to the bed, bent down but couldn't see anything. After digging into her purse and finding a flashlight, she flicked it on and pointed it under the bed. "Oh my."

Catherine's eyes widened as she saw Mrs. Gilmore lopped to one side with a bullet in her head. By the looks of her still intact flesh, Catherine assumes she was shot sometime today. '_I need to get out of here. Now!_'

As fast as she could, she walked quickly to the front door and walked out, trying not to look suspicious. She decided the stairs would be faster so as she walked down the stairs, she pulled out her phone to call Vincent.

"Hello?" Vincent answered as Catherine was halfway down the third flight of stairs.

"Vincent! Thank god you picked up!"

"What's wrong?!" he asked, suddenly alarmed.

"Nothing…nothing yet…I went to Thomas's suite…Vincent, he has to be our killer. I found a room of medieval weapons, two of them matching the descriptions of the murder weapons. I took swabs of the blades so if there were any DNA left over, Evan or even the WVPD could test for them."

"Where are you?!"

"I'm on my way back down to the front lobby. I decided to take the stairs." Catherine replied as she continued going down the stairs at incredible speed. "Vincent, there's more. Mrs. Gilmore isn't sick…she's dead…I found her with a bullet to her head under their bed."

"Catherine, get out of that building right now! Who knows if anyone saw you. I'll meet you at the front of the building."

"Okay…I'm going as fa—" but her voice was cut off as something slammed into her back, causing her to lose her balance and fall down two flights of stairs.

"Catherine! Is everything okay?!" Vincent yelled through the phone. The next thing he knew, the line went dead.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

"Catherine! Is everything okay?!" Vincent shouted as he heard her voice suddenly cut off with a wail of pain. His heart nearly stopped the second the phone died.

"Is everything alright?" Evan asked

"I don't know." Vincent replied. "She was telling me something about her going to Thomas's suite and found two possible murder weapons as well as another dead body—his wife."

"She what?! Why would Catherine go there alone?" Evan asked, bewildered.

"Evan, Catherine is Catherine. Besides, no one believed her so she probably thought she had to do the investigation alone."

"Then what happened?" Evan asked.

"She…I told her to get out of the Greenbrier main building as fast as possible and before she could finish her response, I heard her wail in pain with a large crash. The next thing I hear, the line goes dead."

"Right. I'll get ahold of Tess. You make your way to the main building. If anything, she was ambushed like I was that one time with Peter. Oh God. Why didn't I see it before? Just as I wasn't suspicious of Peter, I wasn't suspicious of Thomas yet all of the signs were pointing to him just as Cat had said!"

"Okay, man, you can sort your guilt later. Right now we gotta find Catherine before something happens."

"Right." Evan replied as he pulled out his phone.

* * *

Vincent didn't wait for Evan to call Tess. He just bolted out of the suites and made his way towards the main building as fast as he could.

**Keiko Fujiwara: Okay, I know this was a really short one but I decided to make the chapters shorter so you guys can get more frequent updates! Okay! :)**

**Let me know what you think!**


	10. Fire

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

**Chapter Ten: **

**Fire**

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

* * *

As Tess received a heaven-made back rub, she couldn't help but wonder where her partner was. Cat was already twenty minutes later than she said she'd be. Suddenly, she heard her cell phone going off and shooed the misuse away so she could answer it in private.

"Vargas."

"Tess, just wondering, has Cat arrived to the spas yet?" Evan asked with a shaky voice.

"No. She hasn't come by at all. Did something happen?" Tess asked, worried.

"Well, from what Vincent told me…it's nothing you're going to like." Evan replied.

"Spit it out Britboy!" Tess exclaimed as she sat up with a towel against her chest.

"Okay! Okay! Cat deliberately lied to us and went to investigate Thomas Gilmore on her own. She went to his suite and from what Vincent said, she found a body as well as two potential murder weapons. On her way back down to the main level of the building, her voice cut off and Vincent heard a huge crash through the phone. I think someone must have pushed her down the stairs."

"SHE DID WHAT?! Honestly!? Does she really want to lose her job!?"

"Tess, I think this is a highly different situation. After remembering everything that Cat has told us…her theories and all…I think she may be right about Thomas. I mean, remember how I didn't see Peter as the killer?"

"Where is she?!" Tess asked as she threw her bra and shirt back on.

"I don't know…Vincent went ahead to see if he could find where she fell. He'll start there and…"

Tess cut Evan off and said, "I'm on my way. Vincent doesn't have a gun so I'll call him to meet me there."

"Right." Evan replied, ending the call. Now it was his job to call Joe even if Cat gets in trouble, he couldn't let her lose her life.

He waited for the ringing to cut off and a voice answer the phone. "Bishop."

"Joe, it's me, Evan. We've got a situation." Evan said as he brushed back his hair.

"What kind of situation?"

"We have reason to believe Cat was kidnapped while on her way to the restrooms." He lied.

"Time of disappearance?"

"Roughly five minutes ago." Evan stated, looking at his watch.

"Thanks. I'll notify Thomas."

"No. I don't think that's a wise decision, Joe."

"And why the hell not? He can get the resort's security to help search for her." Joe said, his voice annoyed.

"Cat…and I have reason to believe Thomas Gilmore is our killer. He fits everything we've investigated. Cat was the only one to see it until she was kidnapped for it. Tess is on her way to the sight of disappearance as am I. I just thought you should know in case…in case your friend isn't as innocent as he claims to be." Evan said bravely as he started his way out of the deluxe suites.

"Thanks Evan for your honesty. Call me in one hour and give me a status report. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Evan said. "I've got to go." Evan ended the call and started running towards the suites. Even if he's not Superman, he still can't afford to lose a friend.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Catherine slowly opened her eyes and felt her head throbbing in pain. As she tried to touch it, her eyes widened. She couldn't move her limbs. She opened her eyes to assess her surroundings and groaned. There was one small light emitting above her—a candle on the wall. She felt shackles wrapped around her wrists and her ankles, keeping her locked into a prostrate position.

"I see you've awakened." A voice echoed through the darkness.

"Who are you!?" Catherine demanded.

A figure stepped into the light and smirked, "Are you surprised?"

"I've suspected you all along." Catherine replied. "Hasn't your mother ever told you to never keep a woman's hands tied?"

"I'm afraid she didn't. Anyways, it won't matter anyway. You'll soon be dead."

Catherine felt fear inside her stomach but brushed it off. She had to be strong for Vincent. "Even if I die, my coworkers will know it was you. You see, before you shoved me down the stairs, I told my boyfriend everything I saw in your suite."

"Oh? You mean the suite that is burning down as we speak?" he laughed. "Honestly, you're going to have to do much better than that Catherine Chandler."

Catherine mentally cursed as she tried squirming against her shackles only to feel a burning sensation against her skin, causing her to wince in pain.

"Do you like my torture table? I invented it myself. You see, the more you struggle, the more you'll burn your skin off. These shackles have motion sensors so if ever you squirm to free yourself, the iron will overheat."

"I've gone through worse." She spat as she lied through her teeth. Sure, she's gone through worse emotional pain but physical? Despite what this psycho wants to do, she knew Muirfield would have done worse if she were ever captured by them. "My boyfriend will come for me!"

"Who? Vincent Zalanski? I highly doubt it. You are 200 feet below ground with only one way in and one way out. Even if he tries to get down here, I'll kill him before he can save you." Thomas smirked. "But first, let's put your strength to the test, shall we?"

"Hit me with your best shot." She stated boldly. In all honesty, if he was planning on killing her, she wished he would just do it quickly. But she knew that wouldn't happen.

"We'll put that off for a bit." He replied as he turned away for a brief moment and whipped out a pair of scissors. "First and foremost, all clothing must disappear. We wouldn't want them to protect you, now would we?"

"You're a sick bastard!" Catherine shouted as she felt a cold dull blade run along her hip as he sliced through her dress. While her dress, slip, panties and bra fell to the ground, Thomas marveled at her body.

"What a beauty you are." He smiled. "This is going to be fun for sure."

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

As Vincent made his way to the stairs, Tess called after him. "Vincent! Wait up!"

"I don't have time to wait, Tess." Vincent replied, not stopping.

"Just hold up a sec! You don't have a gun so you aren't qualified to save Catherine." Tess stated as she continued following him.

"I don't need a gun. I have my own defense." Vincent said while stopping suddenly. He saw Catherine's phone a few steps in front of him. As he got closer, he noticed her phone was smashed to bits and pieces. '_Damn!_' Suddenly, he said, "This was where she landed when she fell."

"How can you tell?"

"Her phone." He replied. "Do you smell something burning?"

"No. Why?" But as she looked up to see what he would say, he was already three flights ahead of her as he continued running up the stairs. '_Damn! He's fast!_'

Vincent smelled smoke coming from the top floor of the building. As he approached the room of the source, he felt the door and it was extremely hot. "TESS!" he yelled. "CALL 911! THERE'S A FIRE!"

"On it!" she hollered back. He kicked down the door and could see the flames engulfing the entire suite. Without thinking, he rushed in so he could find the blades Catherine was talking about. As fast as he could, he went from room to room until he found a room with burning medieval equipment. There were too many weapons and so little time to look for them. He trusted Catherine and he remembered she said something about swabbing them. Hopefully that'll be enough to peg Thomas. He ran to the master bedroom and looked under the bed. Luckily the flames haven't reached the body under the bed yet. He pulled her out and carried her over his back as he forced his way out of the flaming suite. Tess saw him come out of the room and shouted, "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Catherine called me earlier…before she was kidnapped. She told me there was a body lying underneath the master bedroom's bed. I pulled her out in case her body may be useful for the investigation. The murder weapons are in there too but I don't know which ones they are. There is too many of them and so little time to find them. Catherine did say she took swabs of each blade, hoping to find DNA."

"Well, we have to find her first." Tess replied. "We first have to find a fast way to evacuate the guests on this floor."

"That'll be easy." Vincent stated. He took a large breath and yelled as loud as possible, "FIIIIRRRRRREEEEEE!"

In seconds, there were people scattering in the hallway and rushing down the stairs. Vincent and Tess followed suit, making their way to the bottom of the building and meeting Evan along the way.

"Who is the Jane Doe?" Evan asked as he saw Vincent carrying a lifeless woman.

"She's Thomas Gilmore's wife." Vincent replied. "I grabbed her out of the burning suite in case her body could be useful towards investigation."

"Smart move." Evan smiled. "Now, where do you think Thomas would have taken Cat?"

"I don't know." Tess replied. "I'm going to call Wolansky and Philmore. We may need their help."

As she walked away, Evan whispered to Vincent, "So….can you sniff her out?"

"I'm not a bloodhound, Evan."

"Well, what CAN you do?" Evan asked as he continued whispering.

"Shhhhh….I need to focus." Vincent said, closing his eyes. Of all of the people around him, he tried finding Catherine's heartbeat. A few seconds pass and he can hear one very familiar heartbeat—one that beats whenever its owner is in trouble. He didn't realize that Tess had joined him and Evan as he said, "I can hear her heartbeat. It's very faint but we need to go underground. It's coming from below us."

As he opened his eyes, Tess gave him a weird look. "You can hear her heartbeat?"

"Ummm…yeah…"

"I'm guessing that's a story for another day?" Tess asked, knowing they were pressing for time.

"Yeah." '_Great, JT is going to kill me._' Vincent ran to the receptionist and said, "Excuse me! Are there any levels underneath this floor?"

"Well, not of the building…but, If I remember correctly, to the west side of the building, there's a cellar door that leads to an unfinished tunnel under Greenbrier. Why?" the woman asked.

"No reason. Just curious for its history." Vincent lied, making his way back to Tess and Evan. "Let's go."

"Right." Evan and Tess agreed. As they were running towards the cellar doors, Vincent's phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and answered it.

"Got anything for me, JT?"

"Yeah…actually I do." JT replied.

"Okay…I'm gonna put you on speaker really quickly. There are cops that are going to want to hear this." Vincent said, as he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Alright…well, Thomas and Zachary used to be roommates in college. Zachary majored in business and Thomas majored management with a minor in medieval weapon studies."

"I didn't even know they taught classes like that." Evan stated, throwing JT off guard.

"Wait! You brought Birthday Boy into this conversation?!" JT exclaimed. "A little WARNING might have been nice."

"Birthday boy?" Evan looked confused but Tess whispered, "Not now."

"Anyways, JT, continue." Vincent said. "We're kind of limited on time so the faster you tell us what you've found, the better."

"Okay…well…how do I say this? Zachary and Thomas were both offered CEO positions for Greenbrier and for several years, they partnered for it. Then, Zachary left because he wanted to focus more on his family. Anyhoo, I spoke with Zachary's brother, Charles, on the phone and he told me Zachary mentioned some things to him in case things go south. Charles said that Zachary found out that Thomas was hiring illegal immigrants and paying them as little as possible so he didn't have to pay them minimum wage. When Zachary confronted Thomas about this, Thomas told him that if he ever said anything, there would be hell to pay. A week later, they received an invitation to go and visit Greenbrier for a 7 day spa retreat. Since Zachary couldn't exactly tell his family it wasn't a good idea to go there, they went. And, well, the rest is history." JT replied.

"Thanks, man. I owe one. Gotta go. Bye." Vincent ended the call before JT could gloat about his amazing research skills and continued running again. "So that explains all of the medieval weaponry found in his suite."

"Yeah…no kidding." Tess replied, even though she didn't see the weapon room.

"If Thomas minored in medieval weaponry studies, he was probably taught on how to use them as well. That would explain why I didn't think he was the killer before. I didn't think he would have the proper training." Evan said. "I see the cellar!"

"Good. Let's go!" Vincent shouted, and the three of them slightly picked up their pace.

* * *

**Keiko Fujiwara: **

**Here's more to fill the void from the last chapter! **

**Consider this and the last chapter as one chapter. :)**

**Hope you're liking the suspense! **


	11. On the Edge

**IMPORTANT NOTE: **

**This chapter contains some brutal torture. **

**Don't hate me afterwards!**

**I promise, in the end, everything will work out…eventually.**

* * *

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

**Chapter Eleven: **

**On the Edge**

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

* * *

Catherine squirmed as Thomas danced his blades along her stomach. As much as she tried to remain still so her wrists and ankles wouldn't burn from the shackles, the pain was too excruciating to bear.

"Come on, Catherine. I want to hear you scream." Thomas said as he slashed her right thigh. Her body tensed but she refused to let him see her agony. She couldn't let him win. She just couldn't allow herself to let him gain the amusement as he rips her apart. She still believed Vincent would find her. He always does no matter how late he is.

"Go to Hell!" she shouted as she managed to spit into his face, earning her a gash to her cheek.

"THE ONLY SOUND I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU IS SCREAMING!" Thomas yelled. "NOW SCREAM!" Instantly, he stabbed his blade into her left hand, piercing through her palm. Catherine bit her lip to choke back her shrills of pain as she snapped her head as far right as possible.

She could feel tears falling from her eyes but she wouldn't give in. She couldn't give in. When she thought he was going to remove the knife, he didn't. She felt him grip her chin as he pulled her face towards him.

"You're such a looker when you're in pain." Thomas smirked before shoving his tongue down her throat. As fast as she could, she slammed her teeth down onto his tongue as hard as she could. In an instant, he removed his lips from hers and rammed his fist into her eye. "YOU BITCH!"

Catherine spat out Thomas's blood towards him before earning another punch to her already swelling eye. Catherine deliberately tried to pull her right hand out of its shackle but no matter how she tried; the burning sensation was too much. Suddenly, she couldn't help but release a murderous scream as Thomas smashed her right leg with a large mallet, shattering her bone.

Just when she thought things couldn't get worse, he started cranking a lever, rotating something underneath her. She instantly felt hundreds of spikes drive into her back and rip her skin apart.

"That's right, Catherine! Scream! Scream for the help you'll never get!" Thomas laughed. After he stopped cranking the table, he turned around, picked up a small heated iron and asked, "Do you know what this is for?"

Catherine didn't dare look up. She didn't want to know what he planned to do with her next. Suddenly, he pressed it against her right breast and shouted, "ANSWER ME!"

Another shriek of pain resonated from her lungs. Shakily, she looked at the little iron and said with as much hatred as she could muster, "Burning your balls off?"

He smirked. "Close…but not quite." Suddenly, he jammed the hot iron between her legs, inducing another painful scream. Echoes after echoes of Catherine's screeching filled the tunnels as Thomas continued to burn her sensitive tissue between her thighs.

Little did Greenbrier's CEO know that Catherine's screams of agony could be faintly heard by a man determined to save the love of his life.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Vincent felt like he was about to lose it. Every five seconds, he would hear Catherine's shrills of pain echo beneath him. He didn't know how much he could handle running Evan and Tess's pace. If it were just him, he would be down there by now. As he focused on her heart beat, it was still beating strong despite how many screams his ears registered.

"How much further, mate?" Evan asked.

"She's still about 150 feet below us…" Vincent replied but did not stop his speed.

"I think I see stairs ahead of us." Tess stated. "That must lead to whatever level Cat is at."

The three of them started down the stairs within seconds. Evan could see the worry in Vincent's expression. He realized that Vincent was holding back for the sake of him and Tess. If it weren't for their human pace, Vincent would most likely be there by now. "Vincent!" Evan shouted.

"What?!"

"Listen! I know you're holding back on us!" Tess looked at Evan like she thought he was crazy. "I know you can get to Cat five times as fast as we probably could. She's probably counting on you saving her. Don't hold back on our account. We'll get there eventually but she needs you now more than ever—as much as I hate saying it."

"I never thought I'd say this, Evan, but thanks." Vincent replied, instantly speeding off like a roadrunner.

"What the hell just happened?! No human is able to run that fast!" Tess's eyes blinked as if she imagined things. "Who is that guy?!"

"He's simply a man who is head-over-heels-in-love." Evan slightly smirked, knowing Tess was going to be demanding answers as soon as this case was over.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Catherine felt lifeless. She couldn't scream or cry anymore nor could feel the pain. It was as if her body completely shut down aside her brain. She couldn't even feel Thomas glide a blade against her lower abdomen, slowly creating a red line across her body.

"Too bad you won't live through this, Catherine Chandler." Thomas said as he brought his knife to her neck. She clenched her eyes closed as she waited for the inevitable. "Any last words?"

Before she could muster the energy to reply, a loud roar reverberated through the walls as a dark figure smashed his way into the small room Thomas and Catherine were in.

"Who are you?!" Thomas asked.

As the figure walked closer, Thomas swore he saw some sort of beast standing in front of him. The figure looked over to Catherine's limp body and somehow, it instantly changed into a man.

"Y-you're Vincent Z-zalanski." Thomas stuttered but then realized why he was there. "Take one more step and I'll kill her."

Suddenly, Vincent's expression changed back to Beast and he growled at Thomas for challenging him. As Vincent approached her, Thomas grabbed a machete and charged towards the Beast.

Vincent whirled around as the blade grazed his shoulder before smacking the weapon away. He then grabbed Thomas by the shirt and dangled him in the air.

"P-p-put m-me d-down!" Thomas demanded.

Just as Vincent was about to smash his brains against the wall, he heard a faint cry of his name. In an instant, he dropped Thomas and rushed to the source of the small voice. As he approached Catherine, his body changed from Beast to Vincent Keller and examined her injuries. Because he heard Tess and Evan running down the small hallway he took to get into this little room, he didn't worry about the man responsible for Catherine's injuries. Did he want to kill him? Absolutely! Did he want the man dead so he couldn't face his crimes? Definitely not. Vincent saw the padlocks hanging from each shackle and instantly ripped them off before releasing Catherine's wrists and ankles from their holds.

His eyes marveled at her burnt skin where the shackles had been and then noticed the blade in her hand. She needed medical treatment and FAST. Vincent grabbed one of Thomas's daggers and lifted Thomas into the air again. He pressed the dagger into the sleeve of Thomas's shirt before doing the same thing to his other shoulder sleeve and jeans. Without stalling any more time, he rushed back over to her and noticed she had passed out. He carefully lifted her from the table and gasped when he felt the many abrasions running down her back. He set her down, took off his shirt and slipped her arms and head through it to give her some protection from other eyes. He was glad she had passed out, knowing that if she were conscious, she'd be screaming her lungs out as he carried her.

He heard Tess and Evan walk in and he looked over to his right. "He's all yours." Vincent said as he tilted his head toward Thomas. Vincent picked up Catherine once again and started walking out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Evan demanded.

"Catherine needs medical attention. I'm taking her back to my suite. I have supplies that'll suture her cuts to stop the bleeding."

"I'm coming with you. You may need help." Evan stated, not taking no for an answer.

"Don't worry guys. I've got this. Wolansky and Philmore should be on their way. You two go ahead and get the help Cat needs." Tess said as she handcuffed Thomas. "Thomas Gilmore, you are under the arrest for the murder of Zachary, Lilly, Timothy and Colette Phillips, Lilly Phillip's unborn child, Eliza Summers and Agatha Gilmore. You are also under arrest for the attempted murder of an officer of the law…."

As Tess stated all of Thomas's rights, Evan and Vincent darted out of the room and headed for the cellar door. The entire way to Vincent's suite, Vincent held Catherine much like he did when she was shot the night of her car wreck. He couldn't bear to lose her. Not now. Not ever! It was up to him to save her.

Vincent handed Evan his key card and Evan hastily opened the door. As they went in, Vincent said, "Clear off the dining table!"

"Right!" Evan shouted as literally raked his hands across the table to knock everything off. Vincent gently placed Catherine on the table and said, "My medical case is underneath the bed."

Evan ran to grab it and placed it on a chair. As he opened it, Vincent said, "Scissors."

"Here." Evan said as he handed Vincent a pair of scissors. Vincent snipped off his shirt from Catherine's body and assessed her injuries. "I need 4.5 mils of Lidocaine. She's going to need the entire dosage for everything I have to do."

"Right." Evan said as he pulled out a syringe and filled it with the Lidocaine. He handed it to Vincent so he could inject it into her body. Vincent lifted her up slightly to examine her back and realized there was no way he had all of the equipment needed to do what needed to be done. "Evan, call 911. She's going to have to be taken to the hospital. I'll do what I can here but she's losing blood and will need a blood transfusion. I don't have the equipment for that."

"On it!" Evan exclaimed, pulling out his phone.

As Vincent started sewing up the gash on her lower stomach, he could overhear Evan making up a story to what happened to Catherine. Within minutes, Evan said, "They're sending an Ambulance as we speak. They should be here in ten minutes."

"Okay. Find a towel from the bathroom and place pressure on the cut on her leg. We need to slow down as much bleeding as possible. Whatever you do, do not remove the knife from her hand. It will only make the bleeding worse." Vincent commanded.

Evan ran to the bathroom, grabbed a towel and rushed back. As he pressed the towel against Catherine's leg, Vincent continued to keep his focus on the cut. While sewing her up, he continued to listen to her heart beat. It was slow but it was steady—for now.

"Do you have a BP cuff?" Evan asked.

"Not with me. I didn't think I would need to actually USE my equipment. I only brought it to help with my cover-up story." Vincent replied as he wiped his brow. "The abrasion along her lower abdomen is almost sutured up. Just six more stitches."

"How are you able to stay calm?" Evan asked, shaking like a maniac.

"I was an ER doctor before going into the military. In order to perform procedures, I had no choice but to be calm. It is the doctor's job to diagnose the patient as accurate as possible and to fix the problem with precision. Unlike you, who almost always deal with the dead, the patients I had to deal with were facing death. If I made even one mistake because I lost my cool, a person's life could be lost. There. Done." Vincent replied as he tied the last stitch along the cut of her stomach. "How long has it been?"

"Almost 7 minutes. I told them which suite we were in. They should be bringing a gurney down here. I can go check if you'd like."

"Wait outside and wave your hands. I'll bring Catherine out there. It'll be faster if we take her to them rather than wait for them to come to us." Vincent said as Evan already started taking off.

Carefully, Vincent picked Catherine up before planting a small kiss on her forehead. "Stay with me." He whispered.

He ran her outside and met the ambulance team with a gurney. "I'm coming with her!" Vincent demanded.

"Are you a family member?" a paramedic asked.

"I'm her husband." He lied, knowing it was the only way to ride with them. "I'm also her personal doctor."

"Alright. What's the status of the patient?"

"I've managed to stitch up the gash along her stomach. She has a broken, possibly shattered, left tibia and fibula, at least twenty long, deep abrasions upon her back, burns along her wrist and ankles and her hand has a knife jammed through it. She needs a blood transfusion." Vincent said but still didn't place her on the gurney.

"Alright. We'll do what we can on the way to the hospital. Hop in the front of the ambulance." The paramedic said, pointing to the front of the vehicle.

"I'm not leaving her side."

"Sir, there won't be room for you in the back. Please, sit in the front."

Vincent hesitated but placed her on the gurney before kissing her on the cheek. He quietly made his way to the front but stopped when Evan said, "What about me?"

"Stay here, Evan. Someone will need to be here to explain what's going on to Tess and the rest of your coworkers. Don't worry, I have Tess's number so if anything happens, I'll call."

Evan nodded as he watched Vincent slip into the front seat of the ambulance before the vehicle sped off towards the hospital.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Vincent was pacing back and forth in the waiting room as the EMTs emitted Catherine into the hospital. The team of doctors wouldn't let him help since he was emotionally attached to Catherine. Vincent understood their reasoning as if he were still practicing, he would have most likely told another person in his predicament the same thing but the waiting was driving him crazy. He even called JT a few times to help keep him sane. JT, of course, wasn't really a big help because even HE was hyperventilating.

It was one thing to know Catherine's status but to be away from her and NOT know what the doctors were doing was practically making him bounce off the walls. As he paced back and forth, he continued to keep his focus on her heartbeat. If, at any time, it started to fail, he was going to barge in the ER despite doctor orders.

Eventually, Evan, Tess, Andrew and Sam arrived at the hospital. Tess explained that the WVPD took over the investigation. Luckily, Tess had found Catherine's purse and was able to deliver the Q-tips to the WVPD's coroner to be analyzed. Even if the evidence doesn't peg Thomas as the killer, she as well as Vincent and Evan are key witnesses to Thomas's CRAZINESS.

Three long hours have passed and Vincent was just about to steal a doctor's coat to sneak in and check her status. As he was about to leave the waiting room, a woman with a clipboard walked in and said, "Friends and family of Catherine Chandler?"

Everyone looked at the doctor and listened keenly to what she had to say. "Hello. My name is Doctor Reilly. As you know, Catherine was not in great shape upon her admittance. Luckily, we've been able to stabilize her blood content after long hours of suturing her extensive cuts. Her right leg—that is, the bones of her fibula and tibia were shattered from a large impact centered on a small area. Unfortunately, the chances of fully using her right leg are slim. We implanted two metal rods, one for each bone, to help her bones regrow properly overtime. She received hundreds of stitches, 720 to be exact, excluding the stitches she received before her arrival.

"The cuts along her back were extensive. She was stabbed in the left hand, fracturing her middle two metacarpals. Because of the stitches on both sides of her hand, we didn't give her a cast. Until a week passes, she will be wearing a splint along with a sling instead. Once her stitches are removed, I suggest she be given a cast to replace the splint depending on the healing of the bone. We also had to suture the muscle along her back because the abrasions ran deep into her tissue. The stitches used to sew up her back muscles are dissolvable so they will not need to be removed. However, the stitches along her skin will need to be in a week. We will keep her overnight and monitor her vitals to ensure everything is alright for her to leave tomorrow. Let me ask, will she be home by the time a week arrives?"

Everyone nodded and Vincent spoke up. "I'm her private doctor. I can remove the stitches when the time arrives."

"If that is what she wants." Doctor Reilly smiled. "If there are any family members of Catherine Chandler, I would like to speak to you privately." She walked out of the room as Evan tapped on Vincent's shoulder. "Go, mate. You can represent her family since you're the closest to her."

"Thanks." Vincent replied, realizing that Evan really wasn't all that bad as he thought he was. Vincent followed Dr. Reilly out of the room and stopped when she stopped.

"Before I say anything, what's your relationship to Catherine?"

Vincent thought about lying again but realized she didn't have any family with her so he would just tell the truth and hope the doctor would be nice and tell him what she wants to say. "I'm her boyfriend…her family is in New York…I'm the closest person to her."

She smiled. "Thank you for your honesty. First of all, are you and Catherine in a sexual relationship?"

He blushed and answered, "Yes."

"I'm afraid I have bad news." She frowned, causing Vincent's heart to drop. "I don't know if you were aware of this since you were the one who sutured her lower abdomen, but as doctors and due to the condition she was brought in, we examined her very thoroughly."

Vincent nodded, knowing how true Dr. Reilly statement was. "I understand. W-what did you f-find?"

"Whatever happened to her was tragic. I think we both can agree on that. Apparently, whoever did this to her, mutilated her genital region by use of a burning method. The burns, however, did not run deep but did damage several layers of tissue. In a few hours, an OB/GYN will be in to see her to assess the damage. Until the OB/GYN sees her, I do not have any other information. She is awake if you would like to see her now."

"M-may I tell her what you told me? Knowing Catherine, she wouldn't understand why an OB/GYN will be seeing her and she doesn't like surprises."

"If you feel like you must, tell it to her slowly so she can soak it in. Okay?"

"Thank you." Vincent replied and headed to see Catherine.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Catherine stared at the wall. She remembered everything that happened to her and was mentally unstable. The only one she wanted to see and talk to was Vincent. She heard the door open and slowly turned her head to see who her intruder was. She tried to smile as she watched a familiar face walk into her room. "Hey." She muttered tiredly.

Vincent looked at her clipboard and scanned over it to make sure Dr. Reilly didn't miss any details. After looking it over, he placed it back down and took a seat next to her bed. He clasped her right hand in his and kissed her knuckles before whispering, "Hey…"

"I knew you'd come for me." Catherine said through her parched, overly used voice. Vincent's heart dropped as he heard how dry her voice was from all of the screaming. It took him a minute to compose himself as he stared into her eyes. He could tell she was still traumatized from the way her eyes didn't smile when her lips did. He felt disgusted with himself as he noticed the now very visible black circle around her right eye. "I'm so sorry, Catherine."

"T-this wasn't your fault, Vincent." She said before clearing her throat. "I was the one stupid enough to conduct a solo investigation. This was my fault and my fault alone."

"Catherine, if anything, I should have been with you!" Vincent stated.

"Vincent…Don't do this to yourself…it wasn't your fault. I'm alive because of you." Catherine squeezed his hand. Vincent brought his lips to her palm and kissed it. He dreaded of the news he had to tell her but while she was awake, she needed to know.

"Catherine…has the doctor spoken to you?" Vincent asked, taking a look at her clipboard again.

"Yes…some…but I don't remember much of what she said. Something about stitches…" Catherine replied as she tried to search her memory for her prognosis. "Has she spoken with you?"

Vincent nodded and retold her everything aside from the last piece of information to Catherine.

"So…does my broken leg mean I can't work anymore?" Catherine asked, wanting Vincent's opinion.

"Catherine," he took rubbed his thumb over her hand, "Right now, work should be the worst of your problems. There's more…" he replied gravely.

"More?"

"Yeah…I'm not sure how to bring this up…" Although Vincent was a super-soldier, it was rare times like this where he could still feel nausea overwhelming him.

"Vincent, are you alright?" Catherine asked, concerned as she watched Vincent breath slowly and heavily.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." He said, assuring her with a sad smile. "Catherine, this isn't easy for me to tell you but…Dr. Reilly told me something you need to know."

"What is it?"

"D-do you remember if…Thomas…burned you anywhere besides your breast, wrists and ankles?" Vincent asked, remembering seeing every injury aside from the one he's about to tell her about.

Catherine nodded as she felt her eyes swelling with tears. Oh, she remembered it too well. She remembered the agonizing pain surging through her body the moment the iron touched her sensitive flesh. "W-will I b-be a-able to h-have sex again?" she asked, scared of Vincent's answer.

"As you k-know, your genital region was burned…as to the extent of the burn, I don't know. Dr. Reilly said that an OB/GYN will be here in a few hours to make a diagnosis." Vincent replied nervously.

Catherine nodded. "A-and then what?"

"I don't know…" Vincent's voice dragged on. "Do you want me to be here when she comes?"

Catherine nodded. "I don't want you to leave again."

Vincent leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I won't. I promise."

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

A few hours passed and Catherine was eventually visited by her friends briefly until Dr. Reilly shooed them out. "Dr. Danford will be here in a few minutes. Catherine, would you like your boyfriend to stay?"

Catherine nodded and Vincent continued to squeeze her hand. Not once, since he walked in, has he let go of her hand. Dr. Reilly watched as Vincent kissed Catherine's knuckles and smiled. "Very well then."

As Dr. Reilly left, Catherine muttered, "Vincent?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you do something for me?" she asked, sheepishly.

"Anything." He replied as he gazed into her eyes.

"Could you…um…could you kiss me? I just…I need courage before the OB/GYN arrives…"

Vincent smiled as he watched her cheeks heat up after asking him to kiss her. He stood up from his chair, carefully leaned over her and gently pressed his lips to hers for a placid, passionate kiss. As he receded, he heard her whisper, "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled before kissing her one more time. This time, however, he didn't move away until both of them heard a loud 'ahem' coming from behind Vincent. He almost immediately pulled back, careful not to hurt Catherine in any way and leaned back into his chair.

"Miss Catherine Chandler?"

"Yes?" Catherine looked to the woman as Vincent turned around.

"I'm Dr. Danford, the OB/GYN of this hospital. Dr. Reilly informed me of your condition. Do you mind if I have a look to better assess the situation?" Dr. Danford asked.

Catherine shook her head and Dr. Danford said, "Alright. I'll send for a nurse to help you down to my department. It will be easier to examine your genital region using a birthing chair."

"Is that wise?" Vincent asked. "To move her, I mean. She's suffered from several cuts, earning stitches which, the smallest amount of movement this early after her stitches were sewn could risk tearing them."

"And who are you?" Dr. Danford asked, giving a quizzical look towards Vincent.

"I'm h-her boyfriend…and private doctor." Vincent replied quickly.

"Well, I can assure you moving her will be okay for this examination. As soon as the nurse comes, she'll bring you to my department, as I have said. Unfortunately, the room is off-limits to men due to female privacy and emotional security." Dr. Danford stated snootily.

"Please, ma'am. I don't mind if he comes with me. I'd rather him be there with me during the entire examination." Catherine pleaded.

"Very well." Dr. Danford sighed. "See you in a few."

With that, she disappeared to fetch a nurse.

"You okay?" Vincent asked as he brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

She nodded and he leaned to kiss her one more time for strength because only the Lord knew how much they both needed it.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

* * *

**Like I said, there was some brutal torture within this chapter. Please don't hate me for what I've done with it thus far. I promise everything will turn out for the better in the end! :)**

**Remember the title? **

**Undercover DISASTER…I'd say this was a disaster alright. (on many levels). **

**I liked how Evan and Vincent seemed to put aside their differences in this chapter as they tried to help Catherine. **

**Next chapter will deal with what'll happen concerning Catherine's condition as well as what will happen to Thomas based on his charges. **

**Oh and all that medical stuff in this chapter? I had to search about it online. That's why the update took a while. Next chapter will also entail a lot of medically inclined stuff so update might take a day or two. Well, it is 1 AM in the morning soooooo have a good night! **


	12. Peace

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

**Chapter Twelve: **

**Peace**

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

* * *

A few minutes passed and a nurse came in to detach Catherine's IV and BP cuff from her arm before asking Vincent to lift her up and place her into a wheelchair. As Vincent carefully slid his arms underneath Catherine's body, she winced in pain but told him to continue.

The nurse wheeled Catherine down towards the OB/GYN department and Vincent followed behind.

"Please place her in the birthing chair and get her into a lithotomy position." Dr. Danford stated as they entered the department. Vincent picked Catherine up, placed her in the chair, carefully setting her legs on the special leg rests. Vincent walked behind her and laced his fingers with her right hand as the OB/GYN unbuttoned the lower half of her hospital gown.

"In order to find out how far down the burns go into your vaginal region, I'm going to have to insert a speculum inside your opening. It will feel very similar to a Pap smear test. I'm sure you've already had one before."

Catherine nodded.

"Okay. It will take slightly longer than a typical Pap smear since I'll be examining your walls and make sure they are healthy." Dr. Danford said as she slowly inserted the speculum into Catherine's vagina.

Catherine winced from the pain of the speculum rubbing against her burns. Vincent kissed her forehead and she stared into his eyes to disperse some of the awkwardness of the examination. After a few minutes, Dr. Danford removed the speculum as slowly as possible and said, "There's good news and there's bad news."

"Good news first." Catherine stated.

"The burns don't run too deep. It looks like I'll be able to remove the dead tissue, and over time, the tissue will be able to repair itself. If I conduct the surgery during your stay, you'll have to stay at this hospital for six days to make sure there aren't any post-surgery complications."

"What's the bad news?" Catherine asked, holding Vincent's hand as tight as she could.

"Well, technically there's two. The first piece of bad news is obvious for you: No sexual activity for at least four weeks. Four weeks after your procedure, you must schedule an appointment with your local OB/GYN to have your vagina re-examined and make sure the stitches are healed. Then, if your local OB/GYN okays you, you may start having sexual intercourse again. The second piece of bad news may change your mind about the surgery. Of course, the surgery is always up to the patient."

"What is it?" Catherine didn't like the feeling in her stomach she was getting.

"There's a chance the surgery will leave you infertile due to scar tissue. Of course, you will not know that unless you start trying to conceive. Are you still willing to have the surgery?"

Catherine looked at Vincent for support and he smiled. "I'm behind whatever choice you choose."

"I…I'll go for the surgery." Catherine stated.

"Alright. I suggest we wait until your body has time to rest before we start another surgery. I'll schedule you for 6 AM tomorrow."

Catherine nodded as Dr. Danford re-buttoned her hospital gown. "You can take her back to her recovery room."

Vincent helped Catherine back into the wheel chair and left the OB/GYN department to take Catherine back to her room.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

"Vincent, I'm hungry." Catherine whispered after taking an hour nap.

Vincent woke up from one himself and smiled. "Alright...I think you should be able to order food from in here. At least, that's how it worked at the hospital I worked at." Vincent picked up the phone next to Catherine's bed and saw a button that said, "Food" on it. "Just press the button to the far bottom left."

"Okay." Catherine answered, taking the phone from him with her right hand. "Do you want something?"

"Yeah, I'll take a little something." Vincent replied as he checked her clipboard for the fifth time that day.

"Okay." Catherine said as she pressed the 'Food' button. "Hello…My name is Catherine Chandler and I'm in room 354 and…well…I'm kinda hungry and never really ordered food from a hospital before…so…what's on the menu?"

Vincent chucked at Catherine's cluelessness and handed her the menu that was sitting on the little table beside her.

"Oh…wait…my boyfriend found the menu…ummmmm….I guess the Chicken Salad sandwich sounds good….with water as a drink….and…." Catherine looked up at Vincent and whispered, "What do you want?"

Vincent took the menu and replied, "A ham and cheese sandwich…water."

"…and a ham and cheese sandwich also with water…yup….that's correct…$25?..That shouldn't be a problem…Bye."

Vincent took the menu back and placed it on the table before saying, "I'll pay for it. Don't worry okay?"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Vincent smiled. "Oh…by the way…Tess came in here while you were sleeping…she wanted me to tell you something."

"What?"

"Well, she told Joe what had happened…and…didn't mention that you didn't want your family to know about your injuries."

"Joe told my family!?"

"Yeah…so it turns out they are on a plane over here this very moment. They arrive around 7 tonight." Vincent replied. "So that means…I will have to disappear when they arrive."

"No!" Catherine exclaimed a little too loudly, causing her to feel pain from her lower abdomen. "Vincent, just tell them you're Vincent Zalanski."

"Are you sure?"

Catherine nodded, squeezing his hand. "I think it's about time you met the family anyways."

"I've kinda already have…indirectly at least." Vincent chuckled.

"Well, now it's time for them to actually know a man exists in my life—that I didn't just make Vincent Zalanski up." Catherine smiled.

"Well, technically…"

"You know what I mean." Catherine snapped and tried to laugh but winced from the sharp pain around her stomach.

"You should take it easy. The food is here." Vincent said, turning around to pay for the food. He carried two treys over to Catherine and placed it down on his seat. He then helped her sit up so she could eat without adding choking to her clipboard of injuries.

The two of them ate in silence as they heard the door open. Tess.

"You have to turn on the TV now!" Tess exclaimed.

"Why?" Vincent asked.

"Just do it!" Tess stated, stealing the remote from Catherine's table and turning on the TV.

Suddenly a flashing **BREAKING NEWS REPORT** blinked red on the screen.

"_Hello and welcome back to WSAZ, I'm Sarah Morris. About an hour ago, we've received shocking news from Chief Alexander Willard concerning a tragic case at Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. A few days ago, CEO Thomas Gilmore reported two dead bodies to 27__th__ precinct of the NYPD of New York City to keep the murders quiet from the press as well as Greenbrier guests. The team sent to investigate this case was originally Detective Tess Vargas, Detective Catherine Chandler, M.E. Evan Marks and later joining them, Detective Andrew Wolansky and Detective Samuel Philmore. _

"_These detectives and the M.E. went undercover as Greenbrier guests to quietly investigate the murder case. According to NYPD's lieutenant Joe Bishop, the team found not only two bodies but seven others as the investigation continued. Victims included are a family of five, a Greenbrier maid and CEO Thomas Gilmore's wife herself. Names of the victims have yet been released but as soon as we have updates, we will be releasing them immediately. _

"_As the investigation was underway, the suite where the five family members were murdered exploded and CEO Thomas Gilmore's personal suite burned up in flames as well. Luckily, before the flames engulfed the late Mrs. Gilmore, a brave doctor ran into the fire to fetch her body. Identification of the doctor is unknown but whoever he is, he is a hero. His saving Mrs. Gilmore's body proved very beneficial to the WVPD and NYPD's Evan Marks. DNA of her killer was embedded underneath her nails indicating she put up a strong fight before the person responsible shot her in the head. The man responsible for all of these murders is none other than Greenbrier's CEO Thomas Gilmore. _

"_Det. Catherine Chandler suspected Gilmore all along contrary to her colleagues' belief and bravely sought evidence when not warranted. Whether or not her actions will be infringed is still unclear but her bravery allowed her to find the murder weapons in Gilmore's suite. She took swabs of the blades and placed them in plastic bags for further analysis. Whether or not she was the one who initially found Mrs. Gilmore's body is unknown but we have reason to believe she called the mystery doctor for help. _

"_Unfortunately, as she made her way back to the main floor of the Greenbrier building, she was knapped by Gilmore and taken down below Greenbrier almost 200 feet. The extent of her injuries will not be released based on patient privacy rights but she's currently being treated at Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, room 354. _

"_Gilmore's charges are still being decided as well as his court date. Catherine Chandler as well as any other witness will be asked to appear and give their testimony. It seems as if the names of the victims have been released. They are: Zachary Phillips (35), Lilly Phillips (34), Timothy Phillips (9), Colette Phillips (5), Eliza Summers (24) and Agatha Gilmore (36). More information will be release once informed. Thank you, this is Sarah Morris from the WSAZ." _

Tess turned off the TV and said, "We're going to have police stationed outside your recovery room. I don't know who leaked out the information about where you are staying but you definitely DO NOT need camera freaks up in your face as you're trying to recover."

"Thanks. But I want to know who leaked out that information." Catherine replied. "That was supposed to stay private."

"I know…I'll get right on it." Tess stated before leaving Vincent and Catherine alone.

Suddenly a nervous thought crossed Catherine's mind. "Vincent…we may be in trouble…"

"Why?"

"That news reporter bitch released my name…and hinted that I might have called you to help me with the investigation."

"And?"

"She said doctor friend, Vincent. What other doctor friend does Muirfield know I have besides you?"

Vincent froze. He never even thought about that. "Shit…this…this could be bad."

Suddenly, his phone rang and he answered it on speaker.

"HAVE YOU SEEN THE FREAKING NEWS?! MUIRFIELD IS PROBABLY ON THEIR WAY TO THAT HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW! VINCENT, I TOLD YOU TO LAY LOW!"

"And I told you to let me live my life the way I want to, JT. Besides, Muirfield wouldn't be too stupid to barge into a hospital when Catherine is surrounded by policemen do you?"

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER, VINCENT! YOU ARE A NEON TARGET RIGHT NOW! THEY COULD BLOW UP THE ENTIRE BUILDING IN ORDER TO GET YOU! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Catherine suddenly snatched the phone with her good hand and placed the phone to her ear, "Listen, JT, don't blame Vincent for this. He was helping me so if you want to blame someone, blame me. Okay? I've had one hell of a day so if you know what's good for you, DON'T YELL AT MY BOYFRIEND!"

With that, she handed the phone back to Vincent before caressing her stomach. She really shouldn't have yelled but she thought it was necessary.

"Woah…boyfriend? Since when did THAT happen?" JT asked, changing the entire conversation's focus.

"That's nothing you need to know about, JT. Don't worry about me, JT. If even one Muirfield agent comes to get me, he won't be so lucky." Vincent said, ending the call before JT could have a chance to blow up.

"Nicely done." Vincent smirked before leaning over to kiss her.

"Thanks." She smiled. "I'm getting a little tired…"

"Okay…just rest, Catherine. Don't worry; I'll still be here when you wake up." Vincent replied.

"Will you…hold me?" Catherine asked, sheepishly.

Vincent nodded and walked around to the other side of her bed. He carefully slid himself beside her as he wrapped his arm around her body. Catherine fell asleep almost instantly as Vincent laid next to her. Even if she was lying in a hospital bed with hundreds of stitches among other things, she's never felt so at peace.

"I love you Vincent." She whispered.

He kissed her forehead and muttered, "I love you too, Catherine."

And all of their worries slipped away as they gently embraced each other to sleep the night away.

* * *

**I know, short but there's still a chapter or two left for this Fiction! :)**

**Have a good night! **

**P.s. Don't shoot me if I'm wrong about medical stuff! I am certainly no doctor and the internet is limited. **


	13. Epilogue

_**Okay, so I technically lied…**_

_**This will be the last and final chapter. It is an epilogue. Let me know if you want another undercover story…who knows, maybe I can make this a series. bahahaha**_

* * *

**Undercover Disaster**

**Keiko Fujiwara**

**Epilogue**

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

* * *

Two months have passed since the group left West Virginia. Catherine ended up having her surgery and the results have been very satisfying. While Catherine was finally allowed to go back to work (she never does seem to have a break from injuries, does she?), Vincent and JT decided to have some guy-to-guy downtime.

"Sooooo…how was the Resort Vacation of Hell?" JT asked as he took a sip of his beer.

"Honestly? Aside from seven murders, Evan embarrassing Catherine in front of three or so hundred people, an explosion, a fire, Dinner with Dr. Evil, Evan and Tess finding out I am and Catherine almost getting killed, I'd say it went rather well." Vincent said, remembering he hasn't told JT yet about Evan and Tess.

"Wait, what was that?!" JT asked, almost choking on his beer.

"Catherine almost getting killed?" Vincent asked.

"No…before that…What did you say before "Catherine almost getting killed?"" JT glared at his roommate.

"I don't really remember." Vincent smirked as he stood up to fetch himself a beer from the fridge.

"Vincent, don't kid around with me. What was it about the Birthday Boy and the Partner?"

"Oh! That's right, yeah, they kinda know about me know…as Vincent Keller."

"WHAT THE HELL, VINCENT!? ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED BY MUIRFIELD!? I MEAN SERIOUSLY, DUDE, WHATEVER HAPPENED THE MR. I'M-DEAD-SO-I-MUST-HIDE-FROM-THE-WORLD?! FIRST IT IS CATHERINE! NOW IT'S HER COWORKERS! COP COWORKERS! YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE WEARING A SIGN THAT HAS YOUR NAME ON IT! SERIOUSLY?!"

"Okay, FIRST, JT, calm down! SECOND, if I remember correctly, Catherine was NOT the first to know of my secret. YOU were. THIRD, Evan figured it out because he sort of saw me as the Beast when I saved Catherine. FOURTH, I had no choice but to let Tess in on it. Catherine was in danger and if I waited for Tess to leave every time I needed to hear her heart or use my abilities, I wouldn't have gotten there in time. Not to mention, she's already seen my photo the first time Catherine and I officially met. So, it was bound to happen anyways."

"Which obviously wouldn't have happened if you NEVER met Catherine!" JT pointed out.

"JT, don't involve Catherine in this. It's not her fault Evan is a smart guy and Tess is a damn good detective. Honestly, would you rather me be here complaining about how dull life has been for the last ten years if Catherine wasn't in my life?" Vincent asked as he slammed the fridge.

"Well, it's not like you're actually making any progress with Catherine and the sex card. I mean, come on, how many months have you two been seeing each other? Since you haven't had sex with her, I'm surprised you two managed to spend a whole week or two with each other at Greenbrier and STILL not had sex."

Suddenly, Vincent's face went red. "Well, JT, you see…that's not entirely true."

"Wait…you didn't…Oh! My! God! You did! Please don't tell me Catherine is pregnant! We so DO NOT need any mini-Cats or mini-Vincents running around this place!"

"What?! No, JT, she was just cleared to start having sex again three weeks ago! I mean, come on, we've barely even had time to have sex. She's either at work or her sister is at home. Not to mention you always seem to be present when Catherine comes by." Vincent replied, not realizing JT didn't know about Catherine's surgery.

"What do you mean she only just started having sex again?"

"Long story and definitely not for your ears. If you say a word about this, you'll regret it and it WON'T be the BEAST's wrath. You know what; I'm going to go for a walk." Vincent said as he put on his jacket.

"Take some condoms."

"JT!"

"I'm serious. Cat is almost out of work and if everything seems to happen just right, tonight, you're going to want at least SOME protection."

"JT, this may be a little TMI, but FYI, Catherine and I haven't been using any contraceptives. And if Catherine does get pregnant, than that's great! I certainly wouldn't mind!"

"Vincent, I don't mean to sound rude or annoying or bitchy. Honest. Just take it from her view. If you impregnate her, she'll eventually be asked A LOT of questions relating to you, Vincent. The worst part? She won't be able to tell her friends and family, aside from Birthday Boy and the Partner, obviously, who the child's father would be. She'd have to make up a lie and say it was a one-night stand." JT replied out of concern. "Listen, buddy, it wouldn't end well for her."

"I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later." Vincent stated, not even bothering to take any condoms.

**~BEAUTY AND THE BEAST~**

Catherine finally finished writing the report for her newest case when Tess slammed a book on her desk, scaring the living lights out of her.

"What the hell?! Tess, are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" Catherine placed her hand over her heart as she gave her partner a look of shock.

"No. Cat, it is nearly 10:30 PM at night. Why are you still here?" Tess asked, slipping on her jacket.

"If you took time to notice, I was finishing up the report for the Noelle Roberts case. Again, I ask, were you trying to give me a heart attack?" Catherine asked as she placed the file in her filing cabinet.

"Actually, I was just testing your response. Cat, you should be home after what happened a few months ago. You should be at home, resting your feet and watching fluffy movies with your super soldier of a bf. What you SHOULDN'T be doing is staying at the precinct this late to write a report that can be written tomorrow. Is there something going on with the BF and you don't wanna go home?"

"No…that's not it. Everything is perfect with him." Catherine smiled to herself.

"Then what?"

"I'm pregnant…" she said so quietly, Tess almost didn't hear.

"You're what?!" Tess exclaimed. "Cat, this is huge! Wait!? I thought you had vaginal surgery!?"

"I did…Apparently, I became pregnant during the Greenbrier disaster…I went to see the OB/GYN recently and he told me when I had my follow-up appointment. Believe me, I was shocked too. The OB didn't think it was possible for an embryo to survive through the amount of stress I've been putting on my body due to the surgeries. But, despite his disbelief as well as mine, but the Ultrasound confirmed it." Catherine smiled. "I gotta go. I'm going to tell Vincent tonight."

"Good luck and Cat, if you need help keeping the father a secret, let me know. I promise, for what it's worth, I won't tell anyone about him. He's special to you and apparently more special than what meets the eye."

"Thanks, Tess. You don't know how much that means to me." Catherine smiled before grabbing her things. In a hurry, she left the precinct and darted for her car. She sped home and ran up to her apartment, excited to tell Vincent some great news.

"Heather? Are you home?" Catherine called out but then saw a note on the fridge:

_Cat—_

_Went out with friends. Be back sometime in early morning!_

She grinned and suddenly had a naughty craving of Vincent, making her want to see him even more. She went to her room and quickly changed into the godforsaken lingerie Heather had bought her for her birthday as a joke. She walked over to her window, opened it up and there he was, calmly waiting for her to arrive.

"Hey." He smiled.

Catherine stepped out, not caring about what she was wearing and sat on his lap, surprising him. She caressed his cheek before sewing her lips to his, making him know she wanted more than just a simple 'hey'. She departed from his lips only to whisper in the best sexy voice she could come up with, "Hey is for horses."

Vincent laughed and said, "You seem like you're in a good mood."

"You have no idea." She whispered as she stood up and grabbed his hand before pulling him into her bedroom. Vincent closed the window and took off his shirt and jeans as Catherine pulled the covers from her bed. She walked back over to him and instantly wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as she pressed her lips against his.

Vincent hastily lifted up her tiny black gown and removed hit from her body before trapping her against her bed. As his hands roamed her body, she slid her hands underneath his boxers and slowly pushed them down.

He muttered her name as she sent chills down his spine. Before they knew it, they were finally making love to each other after a long two month wait. He made sure to be gentle, scared to hurt her even this long after her surgery. Catherine didn't mind though. She loved their slow and steady pace.

As their love spilled together, they didn't realize their primal sounds caught the attention of a very tired sister after just getting home from a party.

"Cat, if you're going to have sex this early in the morning, keep the sound to a minimum volume, Okay?" Heather stated in a tired voice, not even registering that her sister was actually having a life.

"H-heather!?" Catherine exclaimed, instantly reaching for the sheets. "I thought you weren't going to be home until later."

"Duh, it is later. Anyways, hi, my name is Heather. I'm normally not a zombie but right now I'm too tired to squeal at this sight. Nice bod, by the way. Whoever you are." Heather said to Vincent. "Anyhoo, like I said, find a mute button or something. Goodnight."

As Heather left Catherine's room, Vincent said, "Well, that was a little awkward."

"She's really tired. She'll probably think it was a dream." Catherine laughed as she pulled him in for a kiss.

He bucked his pelvis against hers as he kissed her. "Screw condoms." Vincent muttered between kisses.  
"Hmmmm?"

"Oh…nothing." Vincent replied. "Nothing in the world could make me happier right now, Catherine."

Catherine smiled and rubbed his back. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Why? Have something else to throw my way?" he smirked

"Well…I do have this hypothetical question for you." Catherine replied as their bodies continued to slowly merge together.

"What?"

"Hypothetically, let's say you and I got a chance to go together as undercover agents and we had to be husband and wife. What would you say, if my undercover alias is said to be pregnant with my undercover husband's child?" Catherine asked, causing Vincent to stop his movements.

"Well, if I were the undercover husband than I'd be really proud. Real or not real." Vincent smiled. She felt Vincent suddenly kiss the base of her neck as she replied, "Good. Because, Vincent, it's not undercover."

Vincent looked at her, trying to figure out what she met. Suddenly, he pieced everything together. "You're pregnant?!"

Catherine nodded.

"Even after the BS stress you went through?!" Vincent exclaimed and Catherine laughed.  
"Yes, Vincent. I don't really understand it either but I guess I'm not infertile after all. Maybe it's because you're the father and, well, we both know your DNA is badass, in a good way of course."

Vincent brought her lips back to his, showing his approval. Despite everything that has happened during the Undercover Disaster, Vincent was glad he and Catherine got to go to Greenbrier. "I guess sometimes disasters do bring joys every once in a while." Vincent chuckled.

"I love you, Vincent." Catherine whispered into his ear.

"I love you too, Catherine Chandler." Vincent kissed her and suddenly sat up before placing his head on her lower belly.

"What're you doing, Vincent?" Catherine laughed as his hair tickled her stomach.

"Shhh…I can faintly hear the child's heartbeat." Vincent whispered. Suddenly, he said, "Hey, there, don't be making this pregnancy a difficult one for your mother. You hear me?"

He kept his head their as for a few minutes before Catherine asked, "Now what're you doing?"

"I'm hear the baby's movements." Vincent smirked.

"Vincent, you should know as a doctor that babies don't normally start kicking until the 25th or so week." Catherine chuckled.

"I didn't say I was trying to FEEL the baby's kicks. I said I was listening for the baby's movements. Yes, I do know that pregnant women normally don't feel the kicking until the 25th or so week but you're in your 9th week, right?"

Catherine nodded.

"That's what I thought. During the 9th week, babies start obtaining a nervous system, causing them to move around. Of course, the baby would be too small for you to feel it but I do hear the child squirming around in there." Vincent kissed Catherine's lower belly before traveling his lips back to hers. "You do realize this child is going to be one badass kid, right. He or she will have a cop for a mother and a…well…me for a father."

"And if Muirfield even thinks about touching our child, they've got another thing coming. I've gone through hell and back and survived. There's NO way I'm gonna let Muirfield near him or her." Catherine said as Vincent continued dropping kisses along her body.

Vincent looked up and said, "If Muirfield has the guts to show their face in my presence, then they'll have one angry beast to deal with. I'll kill every Muirfield agent if I have to, Catherine. Mark my words; I won't let Muirfield get to you. I promise."

Catherine laughed as he brought his lips back to hers. "I have no doubt you will, Vincent. We may have to make some more terms to accommodate our new predicament."

"One day at a time, Catherine." He replied but then his face suddenly hardened.

"What is it Vincent?" Catherine asked.

"Telling JT is probably going to be a nightmare. I better go buy a new bottle of Tums on my way home." Vincent stated as Catherine managed to push him backwards until she trapped him at the end of the bed.

"Like you said, Vincent, we'll it one day at a time." Catherine leaned down and kissed him passionately. Suddenly Vincent pulled away from the kiss and smirked.

"Just think about the story we'll have to tell him or her when he or she gets older."

"What do you mean?" Catherine asked, confused.

"Oh, you know, the fact that little VinCat was a product of an undercover disaster. That would be quite the story for him or her to hear." Vincent laughed as Catherine rolled her eyes.

"VinCat?"

"Well, I don't really want to call our child an 'IT.' Don't you think that sounds a little bit inhumane?" Vincent said as he rubbed her belly.

"I guess VinCat will be the child's name until we know it—I mean little VinCat's gender." Catherine laughed. "I can't believe you're already talking about traumatizing little VinCat when he or she hasn't even been announced to the world yet."

"Let's just call it 'Father Privileges.' Speaking of which, I think it's time I meet the family." Vincent stated as Catherine gazed into his eyes.

"You've already met them, remember? When I was in the hospital." Catherine stated.

"That doesn't count, Catherine. Your father knows me as Vincent Zalanski. Not Vincent Keller. I know I said before that I wouldn't mind being Vincent Zalanski forever but it wouldn't be fair for little VinCat when he or she grows up to find out his or her last name is Keller; not Zalanski. He or she would be Zalanski to the world but Keller to the family. I'm already getting headache thinking about his or her future. Unlike me, little VinCat will be able to go to school and experience life outside of the warehouse walls. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm experiencing life right now in your apartment. It's just…he or she will be able to make friends and go to birthday parties. I don't want our child to face the world as a Zalanski. He or she could seriously develop an identity disorder from the confusion!"

Catherine laughed. "I thought your name was Vincent. Not JT." She kissed him and said, "We'll figure it out, Vincent. Don't worry about it. Like you said, one day at a time. If you want my family to know you as Vincent Keller, I'm perfectly fine with that…Though there may be one tiny obstacle we'll have to deal with first."

"He's gonna blow up you know. Maybe we should spare him from dying young and just not tell him." Vincent laughed.

"And have him find out when I'm as big as a pumpkin?! I don't think so. It's better to find out now while no one knows about it yet…except for Tess...but she promised she wouldn't say a word about anything." Catherine said. "Don't worry Vincent. I know you're twitching on the inside about telling your roommate about our future child, but I'll be with you along the way." She kissed him and added as a little inside joke, "Just like you saved me from Evan during my undercover disaster assignment."

Vincent leaned in and kissed Catherine. "I'd save you from that British git any day. Maybe next time you have an out-of-whack undercover assignment, our second child will be conceived during a night of passion in a hammock."

Catherine rolled her eyes as she lightly jabbed him in the stomach. "Only you would think of something completely ridiculous and still make it sound romantic."

Vincent laughed as he twisted them back over where he was back on top and whispered, "That's because I'm a beast when it comes to romance." He pressed his lips against hers and she pulled him to her, ready to seal the night with another round of love.

* * *

**Keiko Fujiwara: What did you think? **

**I know it probably felt rushed and I'm sorry for that. If people still want more closure, I'll be willing to write a post-epilogue. **

**Let me know what you thought this ending went for you! **

**If you haven't yet, check out my newest fic, Serendipity! :)**

**This may or may not be the last chapter. It all depends on if you guys want more closure. XD**


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